Complete Guide
The CMS TEAM Model: What It Is And How Hospitals Maximize Revenue
The Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) is a mandatory five-year Medicare bundled-payment program from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that began January 1, 2026. It holds 741 selected acute-care hospitals financially accountable for the cost and quality of five high-volume surgical episodes: CABG, lower-extremity joint replacement, major bowel, surgical hip/femur fracture, and spinal fusion, from admission through 30 days post-discharge.
For hospital CEOs and CFOs, TEAM is both a compliance mandate and a revenue opportunity. Hospitals that manage episode cost and quality well can earn substantial rewards under Track 3. Hospitals that don't face annual reconciliation penalties. The five TEAM episodes typically represent ~15% of a participating hospital's Medicare revenue.
In This Guide
What is the CMS TEAM Model?
The textbook definition: mandatory Medicare bundled payment program, 741 hospitals, five surgical episodes, 30-day post-discharge accountability. Effective January 1, 2026.
How to Maximize CMS TEAM Revenue
The five revenue levers — episode cost reduction, quality score optimization, track selection, real-time documentation, and episode-mix targeting. A step-by-step playbook for hospital CFOs.
Participating Hospitals
Searchable list of the 741 acute-care hospitals mandated to participate in CMS TEAM. Filter by state, see your CBSA, and check whether you're in.
CMS TEAM Glossary
Definitions for every key TEAM term: CABG, LEJR, SHFFT, CQS, CBSA, IPPS, BPCI Advanced, CJR, and 12 others. Built for executives onboarding to TEAM compliance.
Key Facts About CMS TEAM
- • Program Name: Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM).
- • Administering Agency: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).
- • Start Date: January 1, 2026.
- • Duration: 5 performance years through 2030.
- • Participation: Mandatory for 741 selected acute-care hospitals.
- • Eligibility: Acute-care hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) located in selected Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs).
- • Episode Definition: Day of qualifying surgery through 30 days post-discharge.
- • Episode Types: CABG, LEJR, major bowel, SHFFT, spinal fusion (5 total).
- • Patient Population: Medicare Part A & B fee-for-service beneficiaries.
- • Excluded: Beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage / managed care plans, those with end-stage renal disease, and those covered by the United Mine Workers of America health plan.
- • Tracks: Track 1 (no downside risk, medium reward), Track 2 (lower risk and reward, years 2–5), Track 3 (highest risk and reward, all five years).
- • Safety-Net Hospital Flexibility: Up to three years in Track 1.
- • Quality Measurement: Composite Quality Score (CQS) including Hybrid Hospital-Wide Readmission, THA/TKA PRO-PM, HH-Falls with Injury, HH-Post Respiratory Failure, Failure to Rescue, and PSI-90 under the HAC Reduction Program.
- • Revenue Impact: The five TEAM episodes typically represent ~15% of a hospital's Medicare revenue.
- • Hospital Categories Eligible: Safety Net Hospitals, Rural Hospitals, Medicare Dependent Hospitals (MDH), Sole Community Hospitals (SCH), Essential Access Community Hospitals (EACH), and prior BPCI Advanced / CJR participants represented in the roster.