Do Hospitals That Volunteer for Joint Replacement Bundled Payments Save More Money Than Those Required to Participate?

Research Objective Medicare has used both voluntary and mandatory programs to engage hospitals in joint replacement bundles. Starting in 2013, hospitals voluntarily joined the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) program. In 2016, Medicare randomly assigned hospitals in 67 of 196 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) to mandatory bundled payments under the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program. Because the CJR mandate...