Last Thursday, a proposed regulation aimed at curbing the high levels of “off-label” uses for antipsychotic medications failed to pass the Senate. This proposed legislation relates back to a report last November by Daniel R. Levinson, the U.S. Inspector General, that exposed the high levels of antipsychotic medications administered to nursing facility residents. That report stated a large percentage of antipsychotic medication usage was outside the Medicare reimbursement criteria.
Despite this setback, this issue will continue to be pushed. CMS continues to scrutinize resident medication regimes, and providers must develop alternative treatment plans to avoid the risk of more restrictive regulations in the future.
This proposed regulation will likely be before Congress again in the near future.
Should you have any questions, please contact:
Todd Selby at 317.977.1440 or tselby@hallrender.com;
Brian Jent at 317.977.1402 or bjent@hallrender.com; or
David Bufford at 502.568.9368 or dbufford@hallrender.com,
or your regular Hall Render attorney.
