Healthcare Spending & Affordability
Expert articles and analysis related to healthcare spending & affordability.
AI Summary — Last 30 Days
Synthesis:
In the last 30 days, CMS has initiated a significant structural shift in Medicare payment strategy by introducing the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), marking a return to mandatory bundled payments for high-volume surgical episodes and signaling a renewed federal focus on spend management and provider accountability. While health systems are grappling with mandatory episode-based reimbursement—with specific discounts of 2% on procedures like LEJR, SHFFT, and spinal fusion, and 1.5% for CABG and major bowel—the persistent challenge remains: prior value-based initiatives such as the Oncology Care Model have delivered spending reductions but resulted in overall net losses, highlighting tensions between payment innovation and financial viability for providers (TEAM Bundle analysis, Oncology Care Model’s Net Losses.
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