Despite Efforts by Medicare, Nursing Homes Continue to Dangerously Drug Your Loved Ones

"In February, Medicare began considering antipsychotic prevalence in its rating system as a way to push nursing homes to limit their use. On the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website, the federal agency said, 'CMS is adding the antipsychotics usage to the star ratings as part of its commitment to reduce inappropriate use of these medicines … It is important that our quality measures and star ratings reflect these expectations.' Despite Medicare’s new scoring system, America Tonight has found, more than 40 nursing homes, like Idle Acre, with five-star ratings that use antipsychotics at more than twice the national average. At Idle Acre, 52 percent of residents received antipsychotics from July 2014 through March 2015, according to Medicare’s Nursing Home Compare website."