September 24, 2026
What’s new: The final evaluation report for the CMS Innovation Center’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) Model shows the model generated $180 million in Medicare savings while preserving care quality for lower extremity joint replacements.
Why it matters: Joint replacements are some of the most common and expensive Medicare procedures, and fragmented post-acute care has historically driven up costs without delivering better outcomes for patients.
What to expect: The Innovation Center has already announced the nationwide expansion of the CJR Model and will launch the mandatory CJR Expanded (CJR-X) Model in 2028 to expand proven savings and improve the recovery experience for joint replacements for people with Medicare across the country.
The big picture: CJR’s evaluation results prove that episode-based payment models can simultaneously lower costs and sustain quality, while advancing the Innovation Center’s strategy to scale effective models that empower people to achieve their health goals and deliver value for taxpayers.
Additional details: The model also helped inform discharge destination decisions and increased focus on patient recovery. The model held hospitals accountable for surgical costs and the 90-day recovery period that followed to help spur a meaningful shift in how hospitals approach discharge planning. Lessons learned from CJR have been applied to the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) Model.
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