Northeast
Sens. Warren, Markey propose bill that would lead to prison time for 'corporate greed' in health care
Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats, introduced legislation Tuesday that would result in prison time for violators of “corporate greed” in health care.
The Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act would also offer state attorneys general and the U.S. Justice Department more tools to go after health care executives accused of corporate exploitation for endangering patient safety and access to health care, according to a press release.
Warren delivered remarks in front of Steward’s St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, taking issue with the financial management of Steward under CEO Ralph de la Torre. In 2016, Steward sold the land where its eight Massachusetts hospitals are located to Medical Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust. The transaction resulted in the hospitals struggling with massive debt that ultimately forced Steward into bankruptcy.
“My Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act would prevent what happened with Steward from ever happening again,” Warren said in a statement. “When private equity gets hold of health care systems, it is literally a matter of life and death, so if you drive a hospital like Steward into bankruptcy, putting patients and communities at risk, you should face real consequences.”
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Sen. Warren delivered remarks in front of Steward’s St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
The bill would create a new criminal penalty to put executives in prison for up to six years if they loot health care entities, including nursing homes and hospitals, if the looting leads to a patient’s death.
It would authorize state attorneys general and the U.S. Justice Department to claw back all compensation, including salaries, to private equity and portfolio company executives within a 10-year period before or after an acquired health care firm experiences serious, avoidable financial difficulties due to that looting.
Additionally, the legislation would authorize an associated civil penalty of up to fives times the clawback amount and require health care providers receiving federal funding to publicly report mergers, acquisitions, changes in ownership and control and financial data, including debt and debt-to-earnings ratios.
There would also be a requirement for a Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General report to be sent to Congress detailing the “harms of corporatization” in health care.
“What Dr. de la Torre, Cerberus Capital Management and Medical Properties Trust did to Steward-owned hospitals in Massachusetts and across the country is unforgivable,” Markey said in a statement. “They promised to improve health care, but instead traded lives and livelihoods for profit. Private equity firms and their enablers will continue to steal from America’s health care system to feed their corporate greed unless we stop them. We need guardrails now to guarantee CEO wealth doesn’t come before the public’s health.”
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Sen. Markey said there need to be guardrails to “guarantee CEO wealth doesn’t come before the public’s health.” (Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Private Equity Stakeholder Project policy director Chris Noble said in a statement that private equity firms have “made a killing out of looting vulnerable hospitals and putting patients and healthcare systems at risk.”
“Grounded in the common-sense idea that U.S. healthcare systems should prioritize safeguarding our long-term health over short-term profits, this legislation is a necessary and timely solution to that problem,” he said.
Massachusetts Nurses Association president Katie Murphy also praised the Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act.
“As an organization representing frontline nurses and health professionals working in facilities owned and operated by private equity firms and other for profit providers, we have witnessed how the commodification of health care and the strive for profit taking by these firms has undermined the safety of the patients and communities served by those facilities, and as such, we applaud and support Senator Warren’s legislation that will hold these firms accountable for their misdeeds and corporate malfeasance, to claw back those resources taken from our patients and our communities to ensure those resources go to the care of patients and not their exploitation,” Murphy said in a statement.
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Boston, MA
Chickadee, the popular Mediterranean restaurant in Seaport, is shutting down – The Boston Globe
An Instagram post that announced their closure on Tuesday evening did not point to any reason for the closure, and requests for comment were not immediately returned.
“Eight years ago, we opened our doors at the Innovation and Design Building with a simple hope: to bring you honest, delicious food and a warm place to share it,” read the post. “What we found instead was a community – regulars who became friends, first dates that turned into anniversaries, celebrations, quiet lunches, and everything in between. You made this restaurant so much more than a place to eat.”
Globe Food Critic Devra First awarded Chickadee 3.5 stars in October 2018, where she wrote how some meals “are magic, everything cooked perfectly, making you swoon.”
At the time, it was also considered one of the earliest restaurants to have opened in the still-industrial far reaches of the Seaport, which was home to ship-repair facilities and cutting-edge design firms, seafood wholesalers, and biotech companies. In terms of location, some said it was ahead of its time.
DaSilva, a three-time James Beard Best Chef: Northeast semifinalist, has led some of the top restaurants across the Greater Boston area. Aside from Barbara Lynch’s flagship No. 9 Park, he opened Spoke Wine Bar in Somerville in 2013. During his time at Spoke, he received a number of accolades and was named one of Zagat’s “30 Under 30” for Boston and earned the title “Rising Star Chef” from StarChefs.
Kilpatrick, who also left Lynch’s group in 2014, worked for the team behind O Ya to help open restaurants in New York. According to his LinkedIn, he started a new job as a regional operations manager for Lark, a boutique hotel management company, in April.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.
Pittsburg, PA
Parent group claims Pittsburgh Public Schools’ closure plan violates children’s civil rights
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board of education has been under intense scrutiny since its “Future Ready Plan” was first introduced — and then eventually approved — in late May. But a group of parents has filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission in an effort to prevent it from being carried out.
Advancement Project, a national civil rights organization, along with 412 Justice and the Education Rights Network, have filed a complaint against the school board on behalf of five PPS students, claiming the plan, which will close or repurpose several district buildings across the city, violates those students’ civil rights.
Those students represented in the complaint attend Miller Pre K-5 in the Hill District, Manchester Pre K-8 on the North Side and Woolslair Pre K-5 in Bloomfield, all of which would close under the plan, with the students relocating.
“This is part of what we’ve seen across the country, this national school closure crisis,” said Adaku Onyeka-Crawford, a staff attorney and director of education justice for Advancement Project. “We’ve seen it play out in urban, suburban and rural communities, affecting Black and brown children, and it has come to Pittsburgh.”
The complaint is calling for an investigation into the plan and for the district and school board to act in good faith during that investigation. They hope it will lead to a preliminary injunction, allowing the commission to get a court order for the district to stop the implementation of the plan.
One of the main claims in the complaint is that the school board “based school closure decisions on utilization (enrollment divided by building capacity), despite being notified that doing so would disproportionately close schools in Black neighborhoods. Black students make up 62% of students that will lose their schools, but only 49% of students district-wide.”
“Utilization has no ties to education quality at all,” said Onyeka-Crawford. “In fact, smaller class sizes are tied to better outcomes for students. Community members had flagged that relying on this metric would disproportionately harm Black students.”
Onyeka-Crawford said alternatives were presented to the school board, some that have had success in other cities, but the district went forward with their own plan instead.
“We need to ask: who is Pittsburgh Public Schools and the board accountable to?” she said. “It’s the parents and families, and if this is what parents and families are asking for, it’s up to them to be accountable to those communities, and give parents and students the education and resources that they need.”
KDKA reached out to the district, but it said it will not comment on pending litigation.
UNCASVILLE, Conn. (WTNH) — Aaliyah Edwards came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points as the Connecticut Sun defeated the Portland Fire, 90-87, during Camp Day on Tuesday morning at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Thousands of kids were in attendance to watch the Sun hold on to a fourth-quarter lead as the Fire attempted to rally. Connecticut led by 10 at halftime and saw its lead cut to one in the final period.
Brittney Griner added 20 points for the Sun, who ended their three-game homestand with a victory. Olivia Nelson-Ododa went 8-for-8 from the foul line en route to 16 points and Leila Lacan chipped in 14.
Carla Leite led the Fire with 18 points.
The Sun visit Phoenix on Friday for the first of two games with the Mercury.
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