ASA Supports Changes to CJR and other Payment Model Programs

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) submitted formal comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to CMS’s proposed rule to revise specific elements of the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model and to cancel the Episode Payment Models (EPM) and Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) payment models.  In this letter to CMS, ASA focuses on three main points:

• The need for continued transparency in the development of models
• Support for CMS's proposal to expand the potential pool of qualified participants under CJR, and
• Request to CMS for increased attention on the development of models that will capture the contributions of specialist across the full spectrum of care.

ASA agreed with moving CJR to a voluntary program, believing that the new approach will allow clinicians greater flexibility. These changes align with Medicare’s direction toward enhancing the quality of care Medicare beneficiaries receive while implementing value-based payments and achieving greater fiscal sustainability.

In addition, the proposed rule allows physician anesthesiologists greater opportunities to be recognized under CJR. ASA believes that providers who have contractual relationships with the participant hospital, as many of our members do, contribute to increasing the quality of care provided while reducing the overall costs of the joint replacement.

This letter reflects ASA’s robust regulatory and legislative advocacy aimed at ensuring physician anesthesiologists have ample opportunities for success under MACRA's Quality Payment Program (QPP) – in both the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and in Alternative Payment Models (APMS). 

Read the letter

To learn more about MACRA and the ASA resources available to help you prepare and participate in this new program, see www.asahq.org/macra