Will the real health care villain please come forward

Rivalries over accountability in U.S. healthcare are spilling into the Senate. One committee pursues Dr. Anthony Fauci, asking to hold the 85-year-old former infectious disease chief in contempt of Congress after he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during a recent hearing. That panel voted for the contempt citation along party lines, and Senator Rand Paul says he can send the matter to the Justice Department without full Senate approval. Meanwhile, another Senate panel says Justice has delayed for more than two years a criminal contempt referral against Ralph de la Torre, the former chairman and CEO of Steward Health Care, after Steward’s May 6, 2024 bankruptcy involving 31 hospitals. A federal appeals court ruled against de la Torre on July 31.