Project PAUSE (Psychoactive Appropriate Use for Safety and Effectiveness), a coalition of national stakeholders of which LeadingAge is a part, is urging lawmakers to take action to promote access to safe antipsychotic usage in nursing homes.

In a May 2, 2025 letter to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies, Project PAUSE requested the addition of language to FY 2026 appropriations bill that would direct the FDA to follow up on reevaluation of black-box warnings on antipsychotic drugs. Read this request here.

On May 22, Project PAUSE sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies requesting the addition of language to the FY 2026 appropriations bill that would direct HHS/CMS to retire the long-stay antipsychotics measure. Read this letter here.

This advocacy follows a letter in April to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz that advocated the same.