CMS delays start of CJR expansion, bundled payment model to Jan. 1

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today further delayed from Oct. 1 to Jan. 1 the start date for the expansion of the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model; new bundled payment program for heart attack and cardiac bypass surgery services; and new cardiac rehabilitation incentive program. AHA supported the additional delay in comments submitted last month, but cautioned against additional delays that “would effectively turn the start date for these programs into a moving target." The programs were all part of a final rule issued in December, which AHA had called “too much, too soon.”