Major Maternity Care Coding Changes Announced for 2027

June 25, 2026

The AMA CPT Editorial Panel has announced significant changes for how maternity care services will be billed effective January 1, 2027. 

Currently, maternity care services are generally billed using a “global” code. At the beginning of next year, the new coding scheme will allow for more granular reporting of services for four defined phases of care: antepartum, labor management, delivery, and postpartum. 

According to the AMA, the changes are intended to "better reflect modern obstetric practice, enable accurate and transparent reporting across the full pregnancy spectrum, and create the data foundation necessary to better attribute maternal care and support the complexities of team-based care throughout a patient's journey.  

"These revisions were the result of nearly two years of collaborative work among the CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) Editorial Panel, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and other national medical specialty societies to arrive at a comprehensive solution." 

As a result of the coding change, the AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee (RUC) has submitted recommendations to CMS for changes to RVUs. If those recommendations are adopted by CMS, the RVUs for the coding changes are anticipated to be budget neutral (i.e., the RVUs in total for the new codes will not exceed the RVUs of former bundled codes). CMS is expected to release proposed relative values for public comment in July 2026, with final values to be published in November 2026 as part of the 2027 Medicare Physician fee Schedule.  

The coding changes have caught the attention of at least one member of Congress. Rep. Earl "Buddy" Carter (R-Ga.) sent a letter on June 25 to the AMA urging the AMA “to reverse its decision and preserve the existing bundled maternity CPT framework. Maintaining global maternity codes remains the most effective way to support coordinated care, promote value-based payment, protect patients from unnecessary costs and complexity, and safeguard program integrity."