LOS ANGELES - Marylandian -- By CCHR International

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), a 57-year mental health industry watchdog, warns that vulnerable elderly residents in some U.S. nursing homes continue to face serious risks of premature death from antipsychotics. Some facilities and their prescribers evade meaningful accountability, and penalties remain too weak to deter the abuse.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued two reports examining psychotropic drugging in nursing homes. In a review of 40 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) inspections, the OIG found that some facilities routinely administered antipsychotics—drugs not Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for dementia and linked to increased mortality—to control resident behavior, while frequently failing to implement required safeguards.[1]

"The inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes has been a longstanding concern for Congress and others," the OIG stated. The reports also addressed how some nursing homes misdiagnose residents with "schizophrenia" to bypass accountability and artificially improve public quality ratings. The OIG recommended that CMS strengthen oversight, closely monitor schizophrenia diagnosis rates, target high-risk facilities, and ensure residents and families receive clear information about antipsychotic use.

CCHR's international president, Jan Eastgate, responded: "For decades, this abuse has been reported, with promises of increased oversight.  These latest government reports reinforce that our elderly are being misdiagnosed and plied with debilitating antipsychotics." Current penalties—capped at $1,000–$5,000 for false certifications—are inadequate, she said.

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In 2011, OIG Inspector General Daniel Levinson declared: "Government, taxpayers, nursing home residents, as well as their families and caregivers, should be outraged—and seek solutions."[2] In 2023, HHS had identified serious problems with inappropriate antipsychotic use and inaccurate schizophrenia diagnoses, but the agency did not impose substantial financial penalties at the time.[2]

Antipsychotics carry well-documented dangers for the elderly. In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a black-box warning for their use in dementia patients due to elevated death risks.[3] In 2007, FDA senior drug safety official Dr. David Graham warned that at least 15,000 nursing home residents die annually from these drugs.[4] A 2024 American Association of Retired Persons report found that in people with dementia aged 50 and older, antipsychotics more than doubled the risk of pneumonia—the leading cause of death in this population—while also increasing risks of stroke, acute kidney injury, blood clots, bone fractures, heart attack, and heart failure.[5]

The problem dates back decades:

1987: Congress passed the Omnibus Reconciliation Act, including the Nursing Home Reform Act, intended to curb chemical restraints; the practice shifted to medication-based "chemical restraints."[6]

2007: Sen. Chuck Grassley called for an OIG review of antipsychotic use and marketing in nursing homes.[7]

2012–2015: CMS's National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care reduced prescribing somewhat, but schizophrenia diagnoses rose sharply, undermining progress.[8]

2019–2020: Roughly 20% of skilled nursing facility residents—about 298,650 people weekly—received antipsychotics. A House Ways and Means report described the crisis as "one of patient harm, inadequate oversight, and insufficient staffing."[9]

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Eastgate concluded, "This continued drugging despite repeated investigations needs to change. Accountability is vital because our seniors deserve compassion and safety, not sedation and premature death."

CCHR urges Congress, CMS, and state authorities to enact immediate, enforceable protections—including strong penalties on any prescribers and facilities engaged in such practices—and to prioritize non-drug alternatives for behavioral care in nursing homes.

CCHR is a nonprofit mental health watchdog, established by the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry, Thomas Szasz, M.D., dedicated to eradicating abuses committed under the guise of mental health care. Since 1969, CCHR has helped secure hundreds of laws protecting individuals from coercive psychiatric practices.

Sources:

[1] Nursing Homes' Inappropriate Use of Antipsychotic Drugs Poses a Risk to Residents, OIG, 16 Mar. 2026, oig.hhs.gov/reports/all/2026/nursing-homes-inappropriate-use-of-antipsychotic-drugs-poses-a-risk-to-residents/

[2] "Overmedication of Nursing Home Patients Troubling," OIG, 1 June 2011

[3] "Nursing Homes Under Investigation for Abuse of Antipsychotics," Newsmax.com, 18 Jan. 2023

[4] Jeanne Lenzer, "FDA warns about using antipsychotic drugs for dementia," BMJ, 23 Apr. 2005,

[5] Testimony by Dr. David Graham, House Hearing, 110th Congress – The Adequacy of FDA to Assure the Safety of the Nation's Drug Supply General, 13 Feb. 2007, p. 66

[6] "Antipsychotics Pose New Risks for People With Dementia," AARP, 24 Apr. 2024, Updated 27 Jan. 2026

[7] P S Masand, "Side effects of antipsychotics in the elderly "J Clin Psychiatry, 2000

[8] "Under-Enforced and Over-Prescribed: The Antipsychotic Drug Epidemic Ravaging America's Nursing Homes." Report of the Committee on Ways and Means Majority U.S. House of Representatives, July 2020, p. 9

[9] "Long-Term Trends of Psychotropic Drug Use in Nursing Homes," Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, 11 Nov. 2022