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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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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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.

EXCLUSIVE: Former U.S. Army Capt. Sam Brown vowed to deliver results for Americans "crushed" by President Biden's policy failures, his first promise after winning a hard fought Senate primary in the crucial swing state of Nevada.

"Look, this is a clear signal that Republicans here in this state are united, not only behind President Trump, but behind me to take on Joe Biden and Jackey Rosen this November," Brown told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview just moments after the race was called. 

"Americans need hope. Nevadans have been crushed by Biden's policies. They've been supported by Jacky Rosen. And this is a resounding victory. We're looking forward to going head-to-head and delivering a victory that Nevadans need," he added.

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Brown said Nevadans would see a "clear contrast" between the America First policies supported by him and former President Trump over the next five months compared to those of Biden, which he said had led to a worsening border crisis, a deteriorating state of the world, and an economy where prices are too high.

"The solutions are clear. We've got to secure our border. We've got to go after the cartels. We've got to ensure that we're not allowing people into this country that mean to do harm. We've got to make sure that the economy is working for all, that there are good jobs, that we don't have unnecessary inflation, we have an American energy policy that provides security and lower costs," Brown told Fox. 

"This is a future that's not too far away. We're going to deliver it after November."

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Brown soundly defeated his main primary rival, former U.S. Ambassador Jeff Gunter, by a significant margin, and will head to the general election with solid backing from Trump and national Republicans, who view the Nevada race as one of their top targets to flip from Democrats.

He will now face incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, who also soundly won her primary, in the November general election, where Democrats hope her well-financed operation will keep the Silver State firmly blue in a year Republicans are expected to perform well across the country.

Little polling has been conducted on the race, but a New York Times poll released last month showed Rosen and Brown tied at 41% with a number still undecided.

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Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate, and the Nevada race is being viewed as a top flip opportunity for Republicans, along with races in West Virginia, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland and Arizona.

Republicans lost a bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto by less than a percentage point in 2022.

Elections analysts rate the race as either "tilt Democratic," "lean Democratic," or a "toss-up."

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.