US to Scrap Bundled Maternity Billing — Fee-for-Service Starts Jan 2027

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A change is coming to the codes OB-GYNs use to bill for maternity care services: Starting Jan. 1, 2027, we will shift from a bundled “global obstetric payment” to a fee-for-service model. This change impacts almost every U.S. family with a pregnancy. Under the current system, families receive a bill that does not distinguish the actual prenatal and postpartum costs from labor and delivery, which makes things incredibly confusing for patients.

In fact, the bundled payment’s impacts have been widespread: It has complicated billing for patients and clinicians, limited access to care, cut back the ability to provide patients with more personalized care, and slowed progress in better understanding U.S. maternal health outcomes.

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