A final evaluation report for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) Model shows the program generated $180 million in Medicare savings while maintaining care quality for lower extremity joint replacements.
Joint replacements are among the most common and expensive Medicare procedures. The CJR Model sought to address historically fragmented post-acute care that has driven up costs without producing better patient outcomes.
The CMS Innovation Center has announced a nationwide expansion of the CJR Model and will launch a mandatory CJR Expanded (CJR-X) Model in 2028 to expand the proven savings and improve recovery for joint replacement patients across the country.
The model helped reshape how hospitals approach discharge planning by holding them accountable for surgical costs and the 90-day recovery period that followed. It increased focus on patient recovery and informed discharge destination decisions.
Lessons learned from the CJR Model have been applied to the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) Model.