CJR-X: The Complete Guide to CMS's Mandatory Joint Replacement Model
CJR-X, the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Expanded Model, is CMS's first-ever nationwide mandatory bundled payment model. Beginning in January 2028, most U.S. acute care hospitals will be held accountable for the cost and quality of the full 90-day episode of care for total hip, total knee, and total ankle replacements, earning money back when they come in under a regional target price with strong quality, or owing a repayment when they don't.
With the relevant rules spread across lengthy CMS rule making, finding clear, reliable answers can be frustrating. Our team built this complete guide as a single, plain-language source for everything your hospital needs to prepare for CJR-X.
What You'll Learn in the Complete Guide
- What CJR-X is and how it expands the original CJR model nationwide
- The model timeline and key dates leading up to the January 2028 start
- Which hospitals are required to participate and which are exempt, such as TEAM hospitals
- How a CJR-X episode is defined, including triggering procedures and bundled services
- How regional target prices are built and how annual reconciliation works
- How the Composite Quality Score (CQS) gates your reconciliation payment and discount tier
- The role of the THA/TKA PRO-PM and the other quality measures that drive your score
- The waivers available under CJR-X and how to put them to work
- Strategies to protect margins and succeed across the full 90-day episode
Prepare for CJR-X with Force Therapeutics
Success under CJR-X comes down to mastering the 90-day episode: standardizing care, proactively preventing complications and readmissions, safely discharging patients home, and hitting the quality thresholds that unlock better discount tiers. Force Therapeutics' digital patient engagement and remote monitoring platform helps hospitals do exactly that, all while helping care teams impact the care quality measures that feed the CQS, including the THA/TKA PRO-PM, readmissions, complications, length of stays, and more.
Download the complete guide to get the full breakdown, or book a free consultation to see how Force can help your team prepare for CJR-X.
