CMS Backs Off From Bundled Payments as Comp Moves Cautiously

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed scaling back its bundled payment program for knee replacements and other procedures, even as the workers’ comp industry seems unsure of how to proceed with the payment model. In a proposed rule published in August, CMS suggested slashing the number of metropolitan areas where hospitals must participate in the Comprehensive Joint Replacement bundled-payment program, from 67 down to 34. Hospitals in the eliminated areas would still be able to voluntarily participate. The program began in the 67 metro areas on April 1, 2016,...