Module 2
TEAM and Mandatory Episodes
The largest mandatory episode model in Medicare's history began January 2026 in selected markets. What it requires, how quality moves the money, and who else it affects.
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- Describe TEAM's scope, timeline, and mandatory geographic selection
- Explain where the composite quality score sits in reconciliation and what it can move
- Anticipate TEAM's effects on surgeons, post-acute providers, and ACOs
- What TEAM Is The largest mandatory episode model in Medicare's history began January 2026. If your hospital is in a selected market, participation was not a choice. About 5 min
- How TEAM Scores Quality A composite quality score sits between spending performance and the payment cap. Where it sits in the sequence determines how much it can actually move. About 5 min
- What TEAM Changes A mandatory model reaches organizations that never chose it. The consequences land on surgeons, post-acute providers, and ACOs as much as on hospitals. About 5 min
Module quiz
Answer all questions to see your score.
1. What does TEAM require participants to do that no prior episode model did?
The requirement wires the episode back into longitudinal care, and is the clearest signal that CMS positions bundles inside primary-care-centered accountable care rather than as an alternative to it.
2. Why is a mandatory model methodologically more informative than a voluntary one?
Voluntary models attract participants who expect to do well, which makes results hard to interpret. TEAM's variation will reveal what happens when accountability arrives before readiness.
3. Why can excellent quality performance not rescue a hospital whose spending far exceeded its target?
Reading a reconciliation formula in sequence rather than as a list of features is how you find which lever actually controls the outcome.