Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Tuesday became the fourth drugmaker to file a lawsuit aimed at halting the Medicare drug pricing negotiation provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Illinois, Minnesota, and New Jersey.

• Illinois: Tina Freese Decker, president and CEO of Corewell Health, has been nominated to chair the American Hospital Association. Decker will succeed current chair Joanne Conroy, Dartmouth Health's president and CEO, in 2025. (Walsh, Modern Healthcare, 7/17)
• Minnesota: Allina Health on Monday announced plans to lay off around 350 workers. The layoffs are system-wide, affecting multiple facilities, including Mercy and United Hospitals, according to internal communications. The health system, which employs over 28,000 individuals in both full- and part-time positions, cited mounting financial challenges as the primary reason, including high costs for supplies and labor, coupled with reduced payments for care services. The layoffs mostly involve leadership and non-direct caregiving roles. Affected employees will be offered severance and health benefits, along with outplacement resources. (Wiley, MPR News, 7/17)
• New Jersey: J&J on Tuesday became the third fourth drugmaker to file a lawsuit aimed at halting the Medicare drug pricing negotiation provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act. J&J, which owns the pharmaceutical company Janssen, claims the law is unconstitutional and leaves Janssen with no choice but to remove all of its products from Medicare and Medicaid if it wants to avoid negotiations. "That provision is the legal equivalent of a gun to the head because it would require the manufacturer to give up access to nearly 40% of the U.S. health care market," J&J said. J&J also objected to signing contracts characterizing the negotiated price as "fair" under its First Amendment rights. Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, PhRMA, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have also filed suits against the law. (Reed, Axios, 7/18; Cohrs, STAT+ [subscription required], 7/18)