Do Bundled Payments Actually Reduce Costs?

Bundled payment models have reduced costs for lower extremity joint replacements, but have had no measurable impact on the costs of other procedures and conditions, according to a study published Monday in Health Affairs. 

The researchers added that their findings indicate CMS should "include more robust risk stratification of patients in bundled payment programs to allow higher payments for more complex patients."

But Ezekiel Emanuel, a health policy professor at the University of Pennsylvania who has worked on research regarding bundled payment models, said it's too early to adequately evaluate bundled payment models, noting that the models are in their early stages and it could take time for savings to come to fruition. Further, he said the models' effects could be more robust as private insurers begin implementing the models (Meyer, "Transformation Hub," Modern Healthcare, 1/6; King, FierceHealthcare, 1/7).