Association of Medicare Mandatory Bundled Payment System for Hip and Knee Joint Replacement With Racial/Ethnic Difference in Joint Replacement Care

In a new JAMA Network Open article, Said Ibrahim, MD, MPH, MBA, and colleagues researched if joint replacement care changed for White, Black, and Hispanic patients under Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model. Using 100% Medicare claims from 2013 to 2017 and a cohort of 688,346 patients, they found that CRJ was associated with a reduction in readmissions for Black patients, narrowing the gap between Black and White patients that existed without CRJ. The researchers view this as a positive change under CRJ, given concerns that value-based payment models may exacerbate disparities in care for racial/ethnic minorities.