AMA to Replace Global Maternity Codes With Itemized System in 2027

The change represents a significant shift in how maternity services are reported, tracked, and reimbursed across the U.S. healthcare system.

The American Medical Association (AMA) will eliminate decades-old bundled billing codes for pregnancy care and replace them with a more granular, itemized coding structure effective Jan. 1, 2027. The change represents a significant shift in how maternity services are reported, tracked, and reimbursed across the U.S. healthcare system.

Historically, common procedural terminology (CPT) codes for maternity care have relied on “global” codes that bundle services provided during antepartum care, labor and delivery, and postpartum follow-up into a single payment structure. The AMA will delete these global codes and instead introduce a combination of evaluation and management codes, along with new categories that capture specific stages of pregnancy, including labor management.

The update follows growing pressure from specialty societies, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which argued that the existing framework does not reflect the complexity of modern obstetric practice. Over the past three decades, maternity care delivery has evolved to involve multidisciplinary teams, including certified nurse midwives, laborists and postpartum specialists. Care is also increasingly delivered across multiple facilities, particularly for high-risk pregnancies requiring transfers from rural hospitals to advanced centers.

Dr. John Horton of Emory Healthcare said the underlying maternity coding structure has remained largely unchanged since the mid-1990s, despite substantial shifts in clinical practice.

The AMA convened a workgroup two years ago to review maternity CPT codes. The revised framework will be formally presented to insurers in a webinar this week. According to panel members, the early release is intended to give payers and vendors additional time to adjust billing and reporting systems ahead of the 2027 rollout.

The overhaul has drawn mixed reactions. While supporters argue that the changes could improve reporting accuracy and better capture care transitions, some observers note that moving away from bundled payments may represent a step back from value-based care models and could affect utilization patterns.

The AMA stated that the new coding system is not designed to increase revenue for obstetricians, nurse-midwives or other maternity specialists, but to better align documentation with current clinical practice.

Stay tuned for more such updates on Digital Health News