For over a decade, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center has aggressively deployed alternative payment models to curb national healthcare spending while preserving patient-reported quality of life. These retrospective risk frameworks combine all professional, facility, and post-acute care claims into a distinct global bundle. With the impending launch of the mandatory Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) at the beginning of 2026, the mandate to achieve cost-efficient surgical tracking is no longer optional.
However, a massive systemic roadblock has stymied value-based expansion beyond traditional fee-for-service populations. Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment has skyrocketed, expanding from 19% of eligible beneficiaries in 2007 to an absolute majority of 54% in 2024.
