More healthcare organizations are filing lawsuits against the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), arguing that its drug pricing provisions are unconstitutional, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and New York.

• District of Columbia: Earlier this month, Merck and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed separate lawsuits against the IRA, arguing that its drug pricing provisions are unconstitutional and should be struck down. Now, several more organizations are filing their own lawsuits. Last Friday, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) filed a legal challenge against the IRA. In the challenge, BMS alleged that the IRA's drug pricing provisions violate the First and Fifth Amendments. On Wednesday, the National Infusion Center Association, the Global Colon Cancer Association, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) jointly filed a complaint against the IRA in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. According to the groups, the drug pricing provision "includes no requirement for checks and balances through public feedback and cuts off administrative and judicial review, violating the Constitution's separation of power and due process clauses." In response to the various lawsuits, an HHS spokesperson said the government plans to "vigorously defend the President's drug price negotiation law." (Choi, The Hill, 6/16; PhRMA press release, 6/21)
• Maryland: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on Tuesday recommended routine anxiety screening for most American adults aged 19 to 64, marking the first time the group has issued such advice. USPSTF also continued to recommend all adults be screened for major depressive disorder. However, the panel did not recommend screening for anxiety disorders among older adults or for suicide risk, citing a lack of data on the effectiveness of screening tools for these conditions. Aside from these screening recommendations, USPSTF said physicians should be better trained on anxiety disorders and take care when discussing mental health disorders with their patients. "Clinicians should be cognizant to stigma issues associated with mental health diagnoses and should aim to develop trusting relationships with patients, free of implicit bias, by being sensitive to cultural issues," the task force wrote. (Moreno, Axios, 6/20; Owermohle, STAT, 6/20; Robertson, The Hill, 6/20)
• New York: The New York state legislature on Tuesday approved a bill safeguarding abortion providers against litigation from states where the practice is prohibited. Under the bill, New York courts and officials will not cooperate if states where abortion is banned try to prosecute, sue, or penalize a New York healthcare provider who has offered abortion medication via telemedicine to patients in those states. With Governor Kathy Hochul (D) expected to sign the bill, several New York-based abortion providers have already announced plans to mail abortion pills to patients in restrictive states. According to the New York Times, as providers test telehealth shield laws, many legal questions are expected to emerge, including a possibility of civil suits and challenges to providers' medical licenses for unauthorized practice of medicine. "It's not a matter of if a provider will be challenged in court," said Rachel Rebouché, the dean of Temple University Law School. "It's a matter of when." (Belluck, The New York Times, 6/20; Falconer, Axios, 6/20)