AAHKS Comments on CJR Final Rule

This week AAHKS submitted comment to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on its interim final rule with comment period (IFC) to give Medicare providers needed flexibilities to respond effectively to the serious public health threats posed by the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The IFC included an extension of the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) Model to extend Performance Year 5 by three months, to end on March 31, 2021. AAHKS supports this decision and requested a future reevaluation to see if a further extension is needed. The IFC also included a call to change CJR’s Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances Policy, to “cover facilities within an emergency area for episodes that overlap with the emergency period.” AAHKS supports this change and asked that CMS consider similar broader actions for CJR participants on a long-term basis. For more information, read the letter.