CMS' Proposed Joint Replacement Initiative Marks First Mandatory Bundled-Pay Demo

CMS proposed Thursday (July 9) the first mandatory Medicare bundled pay demonstration -- one which would require providers in certain regions to reduce spending by 2 percent annually on episodes of care for hip and knee replacements. “We propose to apply a 2 percent discount for performance years 1 through 5 when setting the target price,” CMS states in the proposed rule for the demonstration. “We believe that applying a 2 percent discount in setting the episode target price allows...