Written by Spencer Hulse
This article has been originally published on Smartech Daily and republished at Dataconomy with permission.
(Photographed Above: Xenco Medical Founder and CEO Jason Haider)
The U.S. healthcare landscape is undergoing a profound realignment toward streamlined efficiency, tighter cost control, and care models that revolve around the patient experience. Central to this realignment is the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), a compulsory five-year initiative set to begin on January 1, 2026, under the leadership of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). By redesigning both the way hospitals deliver coordinated care and the mechanisms by which they are reimbursed, TEAM is poised to mark a defining moment, not only for providers but also for technology companies that have long invested in AI-driven medical devices built precisely for this new era of accountability.
As CMS gears up to launch TEAM, we spoke with Xenco Medical Founder and CEO Jason Haider to hear his thoughts on this structural redesign of care delivery and why Xenco Medical, twice named to Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies list, is strategically positioned for this new era of healthcare by offering value-based, longitudinal technologies.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is launching the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) in January 2026. Some in the industry are considering this a pivotal moment in healthcare. Do you agree and, if you do, why?
Jason Haider: That’s a great question. Well, TEAM is more than just another reimbursement model, it’s a structural redesign of how care is delivered and evaluated in the United States. For the first time, acute care hospitals will be held financially accountable not just for the surgery itself, but for a patient’s entire recovery period, including the 30 days after discharge. That’s a radical departure from the fee-for-service system, which often rewarded fragmentation and inefficiency.
I would say that what makes TEAM historic is its mandatory nature. Hospitals in selected Core-Based Statistical Areas won’t have a choice, they will be compelled to participate. That means some of the most common and cost-intensive surgeries, like spinal fusion, joint replacements, CABG procedures, and major bowel surgeries, will be bundled into an episode-based model. It’s a forcing function that ensures providers, payers, and technology companies alike rethink care delivery in a much more coordinated way.
That’s a significant shift. Do you think this new model poses challenges for traditional device companies?
Jason Haider: Absolutely. Historically, most device companies have focused almost exclusively on intraoperative performance. Their success has been measured in units sold and how well an implant functions in the operating room. But under TEAM, outcomes extend far beyond surgery. Hospitals will be judged on things like readmission rates, patient-reported outcomes, and adverse events throughout the recovery window.
If a device company only plays a role during the procedure but has no capacity to help manage post-op care, it leaves hospitals vulnerable to penalties. Many legacy device companies simply don’t offer longitudinal technologies that help hospitals coordinate recovery, monitor patients, or proactively address complications. That becomes a serious disadvantage under TEAM.
So where does Xenco Medical fit into this new landscape?
Jason Haider: Well, this is where our decade-long vision becomes incredibly relevant. From early on, we believed that the future of medical technology lies in value-based, longitudinal care, not episodic intervention. Our TrabeculeX Continuum platform is essentially the embodiment of TEAM’s goals. It combines regenerative biomaterial implantation with an AI-driven remote rehabilitation program. That means when a patient receives our orthobiologic implant, they also gain access to a digital ecosystem of care, including 1,600 AI-powered rehab exercises tailored to their pathology, real-time posture analysis, pain scoring, and adherence monitoring. Surgeons can receive continuous feedback, and patients have what amounts to a virtual care companion during recovery.
In other words, our technology isn’t limited to the silo of the operating room, it follows the patient home, ensuring continuity, engagement, and early intervention if complications arise. That’s precisely what TEAM incentivizes.
It sounds like Xenco Medical was preparing for TEAM before TEAM existed. Was that intentional?
Jason Haider: Well, we couldn’t have predicted this exact policy, but we recognized years ago that healthcare economics were moving toward accountability and cost-containment. The signals for this kind of structural overhaul were apparent years ago. When CMS implements models like this and creates an inflection point, they’re broadcasting to the market what the future of care will look like.
Our mission has always been to solve the problem of siloed care. The fact that TEAM now mandates hospitals to coordinate everything from surgery to rehab has been a resounding validation of our approach.
Why do you consider January 2026 an inflection point for the industry?
Jason Haider: I would say it is an inflection point because it is a mandate. For years, value-based care has been discussed, but much of it has been voluntary or pilot-based. TEAM is mandatory and covers some of the costliest procedures in Medicare. That makes it a tipping point. For device companies, it’s adapt or get left behind. For hospitals, it’s an economic imperative, they can no longer afford technologies that don’t support the full patient journey.
For patients, it’s potentially transformative because TEAM rewards providers who keep them healthier, longer, and more engaged in recovery. For Xenco Medical, it’s validation that the future we built our technologies for has arrived.
Beyond economics, what does TEAM signal about the role of AI in healthcare?
Jason Haider: It makes AI essential infrastructure. CMS is effectively saying that success under TEAM depends on predictive analytics, remote monitoring, and personalized rehabilitation. These aren’t optional add-ons anymore, they’re core capabilities. That’s why we see TEAM as the dawn of a new era in healthcare. By embedding AI into the surgical episode lifecycle, from implant through rehab, we create a continuous feedback loop that improves outcomes and lowers costs. That’s the essence of value-based care.
If you had to summarize Xenco Medical’s position in one sentence as we approach 2026, what would it be?
Jason Haider: Xenco Medical is uniquely positioned for TEAM and the new era of healthcare it ushers in because we didn’t build our medical technologies solely for an instance of care in the operating room, but for the entire longitudinal journeys of our patients.
