On July 31, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) adopted the 2026 Inpatient Prospective Payment System and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System. It includes updates to the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) program which begins on January 1, 2026. Mass Senior Care will be holding a webinar on Understanding the New Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) payment program on Tuesday, September 23 to help nursing facilities understand and prepare for the impacts of the TEAM program’s implementation.
CMS’ five-year TEAM model program is a mandatory, episode-based, alternative payment risk-based financial model, in which selected acute care hospitals will coordinate care for people with Traditional Medicare Fee-For-Service undergoing one of five surgical procedures included in the model. The hospitals will assume responsibility for the cost and quality of care from surgery through the first 30 days after the Medicare beneficiary leaves the hospital. Thirty-seven (37) acute care hospitals in Massachusetts are required to participate in this program. In the TEAM Model, post-acute care providers, including high-performing nursing facilities, play a crucial role in ensuring smooth patient transitions and improving care coordination following hospital discharge, specifically including reducing the likelihood of hospital readmissions and emergency department visits. Hospitals may seek partnerships and align financial incentives with SNFs and other post-acute care providers to improve care transitions and outcomes within the bundled payment structure.
Now is the time for nursing facilities to understand and prepare for the impacts of the TEAM program’s implementation. For Skilled Nursing Facilities, episodic payment models offer a chance to enhance revenue if approached strategically. The webinar is designed to equip nursing facility participants with the tools and strategies to understand and prepare for the effects of this program, including the opportunities and risks related to participation.
Click Here to Register for the MSCA TEAM webinar on September 23, 2025 at 10am.