The effective date for some provisions of two recently announced bundled payment programs will be pushed back to allow the new administration time to review them, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
In a memo posted Wednesday in the Federal Register, CMS said it’s delaying the effective date of bundled payment programs for cardiac care and hip fractures, as well as changes to the joint replacement bundle program, in accordance with President Donald Trump’s regulatory freeze.
“Consistent with the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff’s memorandum of January 20, 2017, we are postponing for 60 days from the date of the memorandum, the effective date of the final rule to allow Department officials the opportunity for further review and consideration of new regulations,” the memo reads.
The delay will not impact the overall implementation of the programs, an HHS spokesman told Modern Healthcare, just some minor changes including adjustments to quality scores and a new track of the joint replacement program.
Parts of the rules that were slated to become effective on Feb. 18 have been moved back to March 21. However, provisions scheduled to become effective July 1 will be rolled out as expected, CMS said.
