CMS To Implement Mandatory Medicare FFS TEAM Model To Provide Bundled Payments For Five Common Surgical Procedures

As of January 1, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will implement the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) to require selected hospitals to accept bundled Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) payments for five common surgical procedures, for episodes starting with the surgery to 30-days following post-surgery discharge. More than 700 hospitals are expected to meet the participation requirements. The goal is to make care more efficient and lower spending at the hospital, and when individuals need skilled nursing care after surgery.

The five common surgical procedures included in TEAM are:

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery . . .