Let’s be honest about the pushback to mandatory bundles

In late September, 179 members of the House of Representatives sent notice to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt and Chief Medical Officer Patrick Conway that they’re not happy about Medicare’s decision to double down on its bundled payment programs.

At issue is Medicare’s proposed plan next year to implement mandatory bundled payment programs for heart failure and coronary artery bypass graft surgery akin to the joint replacement bundles it announced four months prior.