For decades, obstetric care has generally been billed using a global maternity package. Prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum care were often reported together under one bundled billing structure.
Beginning January 1, 2027, that approach is changing.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has finalized one of the most significant updates to maternity CPT coding in decades, replacing much of the traditional global maternity package with a more detailed coding structure that separately reports different phases of maternity care.
If you’re a patient, you may never see these CPT codes. But the changes have sparked significant discussion among physicians, hospitals, insurers, and healthcare policy experts because they could influence how maternity care is documented, reimbursed, and ultimately delivered.
What Is Changing?
Rather than treating maternity care as one bundled service, the new coding system generally separates care into four distinct phases:
- Pregnancy (antepartum care)
- Labor management
- Delivery
- Postpartum care
The updated coding structure also introduces new CPT codes for services that previously were not separately reported, including certain labor management services and specific obstetric procedures.
The goal is to better capture the care that is actually provided throughout pregnancy rather than assuming every patient’s experience follows the same path.
Why Did the AMA Make This Change?
Supporters argue that obstetric care has evolved considerably since the original global maternity package was developed.
Today’s maternity care is often far more individualized.
Many patients receive care from multiple clinicians throughout pregnancy. Some see maternal-fetal medicine specialists. Others receive telehealth visits, require hospital transfers, deliver with laborists rather than their primary obstetrician, or experience complex postpartum care.
Supporters, including the AMA and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), argue that a single bundled payment no longer reflects how maternity care is actually delivered.
They believe the updated coding system will:
- Better recognize team-based care
- More accurately reflect the work clinicians already perform
- Better capture individualized pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum care
Labor Management Receives Dedicated CPT Codes
One of the most notable updates is the creation of dedicated labor management codes.
Instead of simply billing for delivery, physicians will now report labor management separately, with different codes available for straightforward and more complex labor.
Examples of complex labor may include patients with:
- Abnormal fetal heart rate patterns
- Preeclampsia
- Multiple gestation
- Prior cesarean delivery
- Maternal medical conditions requiring additional management
Supporters believe this better reflects the time, decision-making, and clinical management involved during labor.
Additional Obstetric Procedures Now Receive Separate Reporting
The updated CPT structure also creates separate reporting for several important obstetric procedures, including:
- Third- and fourth-degree perineal laceration repairs
- Cesarean hysterectomy
- Uterine tamponade used to treat postpartum hemorrhage
Rather than being absorbed into broader maternity billing, these procedures now receive more individualized reporting.
Why Are Some People Concerned?
Although many physician organizations support the changes, they are not without critics.
Some healthcare experts have questioned whether moving away from bundled maternity billing could increase out-of-pocket costs for some patients depending on how insurers apply deductibles, copays, and reimbursement policies.
Others worry about increased administrative complexity for physician practices.
Some lawmakers have also questioned whether separate reimbursement for additional services could unintentionally encourage unnecessary visits or testing.
Physician organizations have pushed back on that concern, arguing that the purpose of the new coding structure is not to increase services, but to more accurately reimburse the care that is already being provided.
Many of the practical effects will depend on how Medicare and commercial insurers ultimately implement the new coding structure.
What Does This Mean for Patients?
For most patients, these coding changes will happen behind the scenes.
They do not change the medical care you should receive during pregnancy.
However, they could eventually influence how insurance companies reimburse maternity services, how physicians document care, and how healthcare systems measure obstetric services.
Because reimbursement policies are still being developed, many questions about patient cost-sharing remain unanswered.
Why I’m Paying Attention as a Birth Injury Lawyer
As a birth injury lawyer, I review obstetric medical records every day.
These new CPT codes will not determine whether a physician or hospital met the legal standard of care.
Medical negligence is determined by the medical facts, expert testimony, and whether the care provided met the accepted standard of care under the circumstances—not by billing codes.
That said, coding systems matter.
They influence how care is documented, how medical decision-making is recorded, how obstetric services are valued, and how maternity care is measured and studied over time.
Billing records can also become part of the evidence reviewed during litigation. While CPT codes rarely determine liability, they may provide additional context about the care that was provided, how services were reported, and in some cases the damages associated with medical treatment.
I’ll be watching closely to see how these changes are implemented and whether they ultimately improve maternity care for both patients and clinicians.
The Bottom Line
The 2027 maternity CPT changes represent one of the most significant updates to obstetric billing in decades.
Supporters believe the changes better reflect today’s individualized, team-based model of maternity care.
Critics caution that important questions remain about reimbursement, administrative burden, and patient costs.
How these changes ultimately affect physicians, hospitals, insurers, and families will depend largely on how they are implemented over the coming years.
Disclaimer: educational information only. This article is not legal or medical advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case and every pregnancy is unique.
Sources
- American Medical Association. CPT® 2027 Maternity Care Services Code Changes. 2026.
- American Medical Association. CPT® 2027 Codes and Guidelines for Maternity Care Services. Effective January 1, 2027.
- American Medical Association. CPT Maternity Care Services Education Brief: Antepartum Transition Reporting.Referenced within the AMA CPT 2027 Maternity Care Services resources.