April 29, 2025

Warren Warns Walgreens Buyout by Private Equity May Lead to Pharmacy Closures, Lost Jobs in Massachusetts, Limit Access to Medication

Warren seeks assurances from Sycamore Partners that its heavily-leveraged, debt-fueled acquisition of Walgreens will not lead to layoffs, store closures

After private equity looted Steward Health Care hospitals, Warren concerned that Walgreens could be next: “These private equity buyouts of companies facing financial hardship…frequently lead to worse outcomes for employees and consumers.”

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, wrote to private equity firm Sycamore Partners (Sycamore) regarding concerns that the firm’s proposed acquisition of retail pharmacy chain Walgreens may cost hardworking Massachusetts residents their jobs and create difficulties for patients who need access to lifesaving medications.

Sycamore’s multi-billion-dollar takeover of Walgreens has been touted as an attempt to keep the struggling retail pharmacy chain alive. However, private equity buyouts have a record of running already-struggling companies into the ground and producing devastating consequences for workers and communities, as witnessed by private equity’s looting of Steward Health Care, which resulted in two shuttered hospitals in Massachusetts.

“My primary concern is that Sycamore’s acquisition of Walgreens may lead to restructuring of the company that results in layoffs and pharmacy closures in the Commonwealth,” said Senator Warren.

Walgreens has already announced plans to close nine locations across Massachusetts, in addition to the six stores closed in the state within the past year. Many of the shuttered Walgreens stores are located in vulnerable communities, leaving thousands of residents without reliable pharmacy access.

Sycamore has a troubling history of leading the companies it acquires into bankruptcy, further harming already-struggling communities.

“These private equity buyouts…frequently lead to worse outcomes for employees and consumers: private equity firms sell off assets and close locations, employees lose their jobs, and consumers lose access to essential goods and services,” wrote Senator Warren.

A review by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) revealed that the Walgreens buyout will be heavily leveraged with debt, heightening the risk of bankruptcy and threatening the availability of critical services to customers and patients.

“These are deeply troubling conclusions, suggesting that yet another private equity firm might leverage a failing health care chain to turn a profit at the expense of Massachusetts’ patients, providers, and taxpayers,” wrote Senator Warren.

Millions of customers across the United States rely on Walgreens for primary care, essential medications, and household items, and if the Walgreens-Sycamore deal leads to even more store closures, customers could be left in “pharmacy deserts” without access to necessities.

“I seek assurances that Sycamore’s buyout of Walgreens will not damage the company further, and will not cost hardworking Americans their jobs or create difficulties for patients who need access to lifesaving medications,” concluded Senator Warren.

Senator Warren requested a response identifying the impact Sycamore’s acquisition of Walgreens will have on workers and communities by May 13, 2025.

Senator Warren has repeatedly called out the harms of private equity ownership on health care costs and quality of care and has fought to prevent companies from taking advantage of the bankruptcy system:

In February 2025, Senator Warren questioned private equity executive Stephen Feinberg, President of Cerberus Capital Management and nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, on his actions to enrich himself and his investors at the expense of Steward Health Care patients and workers.
In October 2024, Senator Warren led colleagues in reintroducing the Stop Wall Street Looting Act, comprehensive legislation to fundamentally reform the private equity industry and level the playing field by forcing private investment firms to take responsibility for the outcomes of companies they take over, empowering workers and protecting investors. This reintroduction comes after private equity firm Cerberus looted Steward Health Care, leaving hospitals, patients, and workers hanging out to dry.
In September 2024, Senators Warren and Markey (D-Mass.), alongside Representatives Auchincloss and Lynch, sent a letter to RHG raising concerns over its proposed acquisition of Steward Health Care’s physician group, Stewardship Health.
In September 2024, Senator Warren urged the IRS to crack down on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) squeezing the health care industry.
In August 2024, Senators Warren and Markey requested information from private equity firm Apollo Global Management (Apollo) on the company’s role in Steward’s bankruptcy, and urged Apollo to work in good faith to facilitate the sale of Steward’s Massachusetts hospitals.
In July 2024, Senators Warren and Markey wrote to Medical Properties Trust and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, owners of Steward’s eight Massachusetts hospitals, urging them to offer lease concessions to keep the hospitals open and viable.
In June 2024, Senator Warren, Representative Chu, and Representative Nadler urged CMS to increase oversight of artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic software tools used to guide coverage decisions in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, citing the NaviHealth scandal as cause for concern.
In June 2024, Senators Warren and Markey introduced the Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act of 2024 to root out corporate greed and private equity abuse in the health care system, specifically preventing what happened with Steward from happening again.
In June 2024, Senator Warren wrote to the DOJ, FTC, and HHS calling out high health care costs due to vertically-integrated insurers, private equity companies, and pharmaceutical companies that are driving health care consolidation.
In June 2024, Senators Warren, Brown (D-Ohio), and Markey wrote to the Director of the U.S. Trustee Program (USTP), calling for USTP to move to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee to run the company in place of Steward’s current management, and to monitor the hospitals’ bankruptcy proceedings to protect patients and local communities.
In May 2024, Senator Warren sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, urging them to support communities and health care providers affected by the crisis caused by Steward’s financial mismanagement.
In April 2024, Senators Warren and Senator Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter to six private credit funds that are holders of Steward’s debt, asking them a series of questions about their loans and calling on them to offer loan modifications that could potentially help keep the hospitals afloat.
In April 2024, Senators Warren and Markey called out Medical Properties Trust and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners for exploiting Steward Hospitals, and urged them to help keep the hospitals open.
In April 2024, Senators Warren, Markey, and the rest of the MA delegation urged the FTC and DOJ to closely scrutinize UnitedHealth Group’s proposed acquisition of Steward Health Care’s physician group, Stewardship Health.
In April 2024, Senator Warren delivered remarks at a Senate hearing in Boston titled, “When Health Care Becomes Wealth Care: How Corporate Greed Puts Patient Care and Health Workers at Risk,” which centered on Steward Health Care’s Massachusetts hospitals.
In April 2024, Senators Warren and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) called out private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management (Cerberus) for its role in creating Steward Health Care’s financial challenges, following Cerberus’s reply to the Massachusetts congressional delegation’s February 2024 probe.
In February 2024, Senator Warren slammed UnitedHealth Group for leveraging NaviHealth’s unregulated artificial intelligence algorithm to unlawfully deny health care to seniors with severe injuries.
In March 2024, Senator Warren released a statement about Steward’s plan to sell its physician group Stewardship Health to UnitedHealth Group’s subsidiary Optum.
In March 2024, Senators Warren and Markey sent a letter to Steward CEO and Chairman Dr. Ralph de la Torre, calling on him to testify at a congressional hearing in Boston.
In March 2024, Senators Warren and Markey sent a letter to Dr. de la Torre, blasting him for years of financial mismanagement, private equity schemes, and executive profiteering that have led to Steward Health Care’s financial crisis.
In February 2024, Senators Warren and Markey, along with all nine members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, sent a letter to Cerberus seeking answers from the private equity firm for its role in creating the current financial challenges at Steward hospitals.
In January 2024, Senator Warren released a statement about Steward’s financial situation and allegations of patient neglect at Steward facilities.
In January 2024, Senator Warren led the Massachusetts congressional delegation in a letter to the CEO of Steward Health Care pressing the company to brief them on Steward’s financial position, the status of their Massachusetts facilities, and their plans to ensure the communities they serve are not abandoned.

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