As hospitals prepare for the CMS Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), Your Health has been closely examining what success under the model will require. The research shows that strong care coordination, post-discharge support, and better alignment across settings will play a major role in improving both cost and quality performance.

The paper explains that TEAM places hospitals under greater accountability for both cost and quality across five high-variation surgical episodes. It also highlights how Your Health’s existing model, including transitional care, interdisciplinary care teams, data-driven workflows, and post-discharge support, aligns closely with the operational needs of the program.

This work reflects how Your Health continues to evaluate new value-based models with a practical, partner-focused lens. By looking closely at policy changes, market readiness, and operational demands, the organization can better support hospitals, providers, and patients navigating the next phase of episode-based care

The paper shows that TEAM is one of the most significant recent changes in Medicare surgical episode reimbursement. Hospitals participating in the model are responsible not just for the procedure itself, but for total episode performance through 30 days after discharge. Because variation in costs and outcomes is often driven by post-acute care, complications, and readmissions, the model underscores the need for coordinated care beyond the hospital walls.
The research found that success under TEAM depends on several connected capabilities: strong care transition workflows, timely follow-up after discharge, high-performing post-acute partners, and internal analytics that help organizations act before CMS formally measures outcomes later. The paper also highlights that many hospitals may not yet have all the infrastructure needed to manage these demands on their own, especially in rural or resource-limited markets.
Based on these findings, the paper supports a strategy centered on partnership, care coordination, and operational readiness. Your Health helps participating hospitals with structured transitional care, interdisciplinary support, data-informed outreach, post-discharge engagement, and stronger alignment with post-acute providers and primary care connections.
One of the clearest takeaways is that TEAM rewards organizations that can reduce fragmentation across the surgical episode. Better discharge planning, faster follow-up, stronger post-acute relationships, and more proactive identification of high-risk patients can all support lower readmissions, better patient outcomes, and stronger financial performance under the model. The paper also reinforces that this kind of infrastructure takes time to build, making early preparation especially important.

The sections above provide a high-level overview of the paper’s main findings. For a closer look at the full analysis, policy context, and recommendations that shaped this work, use the button below to read the complete paper.

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