The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is sharing details on participation in the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) bundled payment model called Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM).

TEAM begins January 1, 2026; the new information focuses on how participating hospitals and their skilled nursing facility (SNF) partners’ provided services can be covered by Medicare under the model without a typically-required 3-day inpatient hospital stay.

The 3-day stay waiver can only be used for the five episodes covered by TEAM, which include: lower extremity joint replacement, surgical hip femur fracture treatment, spinal fusion, coronary artery bypass graft, and major bowel procedure.

Additionally, the decision to forgo the 3-day stay requirement will reside with the participating acute care hospital not the SNF but in these situations the SNF will be reimbursed under Medicare FFS if they enter the appropriate TEAM code and the SNF stay begins within 30 days of discharge from the hospital.

For more details about TEAM, check out our free-to-members Learning Hub resource, An Overview of the Transforming Episode Accountability Model. SNFs can check here to see if their hospitals/geographies are covered by TEAM.