A chair with a name card for Ralph de la Torre, MD, chairman and CEO of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, sat empty Sept. 12 after he skipped the bipartisan Senate committee hearing he had been subpoenaed to attend.

The hearing, "Examining the Bankruptcy of Steward Health Care: How Management Decisions Have Impacted Patient Care," was held by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

HELP Committee member Sen. Bill Cassidy shared during the hearing that eight days earlier, Dr. de la Torre told the committee that he would not comply with the subpoena. The committee then directed him to comply and responded that his objection to the subpoena had no merit.

"A witness cannot disregard and evade a duly authorized subpoena," Mr. Cassidy said. "Therefore, today, the chair and I will be asking the committee to report a resolution to authorize civil enforcement and criminal contempt proceedings against Dr de la Torre requiring compliance subpoena."

Sen. Ed Markey shared during a Sept. 5 press conference that the Senate must hold a vote to hold Dr. de la Torre in criminal, civil contempt or both, and that the committee will "not stop until he answers for what he has done or is put behind bars."

The committee will need to hold a hearing to vote on holding Dr. de la Torre in contempt, which will then go to the Justice Department for prosecution. A notice from the committee must also be issued prior to the hearing, The Boston Globe reported Sept. 12.