ROMTech

Brookfield, Conn. – November 03, 2026 -- Medicare's CJR-X model will place 2,217 hospitals under mandatory two-sided financial risk on January 1, 2028. CMS's final rule projects those hospitals will repay $1.855 billion over five years while receiving $1.463 billion.

The model makes hospitals responsible for the full cost of hip, knee and ankle replacements through 90 days after discharge. Hospitals that beat a regional target price earn a bonus, while those that miss it pay Medicare back.

CMS projects a net $392 million transfer from hospitals to Medicare

The repayment gap leaves a net $392 million flowing to Medicare. More than half of the projected $736 million in savings comes from pricing alone.

Predecessor CJR left 60% of participating hospitals owing money in 2023

The earlier CJR program shows the direction of travel:

Brookfield, Conn. – September 22, 2026 -- ROM Technologies Inc. (ROMTech) said its PortableConnect Rehab System can address two structural barriers facing Department of Veterans Affairs knee-replacement patients: distance from rehabilitation sites and fractured coordination between VA and Community Care providers.

Rural Veterans face outsized travel burdens for post-surgical rehabilitation

Approximately 3 million rural Veterans are enrolled in VA health care, and 54% are age 65 or older. A national VA knee-replacement study found 40.8% of patients lived in rural areas, making repeated long-distance travel a barrier to consistent rehabilitation. The VA's 2026 revised budget request includes roughly $2.29 billion for Beneficiary Travel, though the agency does not break out spending attributable to rehabilitation or rural Veterans specifically.