As a follow-up and a companion to the provider toolkit released earlier this year, the AHCA/NCAL Research Department has released a new analysis on the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM).
TEAM is a mandatory bundled payment model for hospitals that will run from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2030. TEAM will assess whether bundled payments can reduce Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) costs and promote the delivery of coordinated, high-quality care during and after selected surgical procedures.
The AHCA/NCAL Research Department analyzed the potential impact the TEAM model will have on Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) using Medicare fee-for-service claims data from 2024 and CMS’s list of hospital participants in TEAM. The analysis found there were approximately 220,000 TEAM-eligible episodes from participating hospitals in 2024. Nearly a fifth of those episodes (18%) utilized skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) within 30 days of hospital discharge. Surgical hip femur fracture treatment (SHFFT) episodes utilized SNF services the most at 60% with an average length of stay of 36 days. For more,
see the full analysis here (AHCA/NCAL member login required).
Center-level data available in LTC Trend Tracker’s Your Resident Profile
As a resource to help individual providers understand the potential impact of the TEAM model, last week’s release of
Your Resident Profile publication in LTC Trend Tracker included data on how many TEAM episodes their center received in 2024. The episode counts were further broken down by each of the five surgical procedures in TEAM and the average length of stay was calculated for each procedure type.
With this data and performance trends on hospital readmission and ED visits by Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA) available in LTC Trend Tracker, providers are encouraged to use AHCA’s
TEAM provider toolkit to better understand TEAM and guide thinking on participation (AHCA/NCAL member login-required). Members can also
listen to the recording of this webinar on ahcancalED.
For assistance accessing LTC Trend Tracker, contact
help@ltctrendtracker.com. For questions about TEAM, contact AHCA's Population Health Policy Analyst,
Rohini Achal and
Nisha Hammel, AHCA’s Vice President of Reimbursement Policy and Population Health.