Episode 4: Surgery, Recovery and Responsibility: Understanding Medicare’s TEAM Model

Medicare’s new TEAM Model is designed to change how hospitals think about surgery and recovery. It bundles the procedure and thirty days of follow up into one episode, which means hospitals are now responsible for everything that happens after a patient leaves the OR. On paper it looks like policy. In real life it affects families.

In this episode, I talk about the model through the lens of my own experience helping my mom after her spinal fusion. She was in Texas and I was in Georgia, and like so many families, we were balancing distance, multiple providers, and the emotional weight of trying to keep her safe. TEAM tries to create the coordination that caregivers often build on their own. It can improve recovery, but it also adds real pressure on hospitals that are already stretched.

If you want a clear, human explanation of how TEAM works, why CMS chose these five surgeries, and what it means for patients and health systems across the South, this episode walks you through it in a practical and approachable way.

Listen to the episode here.

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