What are the financial risks in TEAM?  Hospitals are preparing for the launch of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) in 2026.   To help you understand both the opportunities and financial risks for participants, DataGen put together a comprehensive white paper, CMS Transforming Episodes Accountability Model Financial Risk Guide.   [Access it Now for Key Updates]  Keep reading for highlights of what’s inside.   Exploring the goals and structure of CMS TEAM Model  CMS TEAM Model is designed to enhance care quality and cost-efficiency. It aims to revolutionize how hospitals manage patient care over 30-day episodes for specific surgical procedures by holding them accountable for the quality and cost of care delivered.   As seen on CMS’ Transforming Episode Accountability Model overview fact sheet , this model not only seeks to improve patient outcomes, but encourages hos...

What can you do while CMS decides how to handle the mandatory program? As the healthcare community continues its march away from fee-for-service models, bundled payment initiatives have risen in popularity—thanks in no small part to their ability to fuel cost savings and significantly improve care outcomes. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule in March that delays implementation of the new bundled payment model for heart attack and cardiac bypass surgery services; expansion of the existing Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement bundling model; and implementation of a new cardiac rehabilitation incentive payment model, from July 1 to October 1, 2017. Prior to the interim rule, CMS’ push forward on bundled payments focused the industry on episodic efficiency. The delay has pushed these initiatives back three months and, as DataGen’s Vice President, Kelly Price recently explained, is causing confusion and worry among participants.

The challenges and benefits of bundled payments and risk-based arrangements is one of the biggest issues facing the healthcare field. Kelly Price, DataGen’s Vice President and Chief of Healthcare Data Analytics, and Stephanie Kovalick, Chief Strategy Officer at Sage Growth Partners sat down to help shed some light on ways to succeed with bundled payments and risk-based payment models. Read more about this conversation in our new installment, “The Future of Payment Reform: How can providers, patients, and payers benefit—and who bears the burden? ” 

As we look ahead to 2017—a year that’s sure to bring changes to the way healthcare is delivered under the new Trump Administration—Kelly Price, DataGen’s Vice President and Chief of Healthcare Data Analytics, sat down with Stephanie Kovalick, Chief Strategy Officer at Sage Growth Partners, to provide expert perspective on the current and future states of payment reform. Download 

Launched on April 1, 2016, CJR is the first mandatory bundled payment program from CMS.  Affecting more than 750 hospitals in 67 markets, CJR creates a host of new challenges and opportunities for participants. Read the article to learn more about the program and prepare for the initial data release .

Announced by the CMS in January 2015, OCM is one of the most recent programs in a litany of new experiments.   Simplifying and organizing the complex data and policy component of this program requires specialized expertise in healthcare analytics. Read about DataGen's recent work related to the OCM in Achieving Data-Driven Success Under the OCM , which identifies four critical areas data analytics will need to address for any bundled payment model. Download the article .