For decades, obstetric billing has rested on a familiar structure: the global obstetric package. Antepartum care, delivery, and postpartum services were generally understood as part of one bundled model. It was not perfect, but it was familiar.

That structure changes on January 1, 2027.

The American Medical Association (AMA) is replacing the traditional global obstetric package with a restructured Current Procedural Terminology (CPT^®) code set for maternity care. The update deletes 17 codes, adds 12 new codes, and revises 6 existing codes. More importantly, it reorganizes maternity care reporting around four distinct phases: antepartum, labor management, delivery, and postpartum.

For OB-GYN practices, this change deserves attention now. The code set takes effect in 2027, but the work needed to prepare begins well before then.

This Is Not Just a Coding Change

Coding changes rarely stay contained inside the billing office. They affect documentation, workflows, payer communication, revenue cycle management, electronic health record templates, staff training, and physician habits.

The 2027 maternity care transition changes how practices describe the work of obstetric care. Instead of relying on one global framework, teams will need to understand which services belong in each phase of care and how those services should be documented and reported.

That matters because maternity care does not happen in neat administrative boxes. Patients move through pregnancy, triage, labor, delivery, recovery, and postpartum needs in ways that vary by circumstance. The new structure creates an opportunity to report that care with more detail, but it also creates risk for practices that wait too long to prepare.

What Is Changing?

The new maternity care coding model separates reporting into four major phases:

• Antepartum care: pregnancy care before labor and delivery
• Labor management: care during labor, reported under a new daily structure
• Delivery: services tied to the birth itself
• Postpartum care: care following delivery

One of the biggest practical shifts is in antepartum care. Practices should expect a move toward per-encounter evaluation and management (E/M) reporting. Labor management also changes, with daily reporting replacing older assumptions built into the global package.

Those changes raise immediate questions: What counts as separately reportable? How should visits be documented? How will payer policies align with the new structure? What needs to change in templates, charge capture, and staff workflows?

Where Practices May Feel the Pressure First

The first signs of disruption may not appear on January 1. They may appear earlier, as practices try to prepare systems and staff for the change. Common pressure points include:

• Electronic health record templates built around the old global model
• Documentation habits that do not clearly separate phases of maternity care
• Billing workflows that depend on familiar bundled assumptions
• Unanswered payer questions about implementation and interpretation
• Staff training needs across clinical, coding, billing, and administrative teams
• Physician uncertainty about how much detail is needed to support accurate reporting

This is why the transition should be handled as a practice readiness project, not a last-minute coding memo.

Why Preparation Should Start Before 2027

The effective date is January 1, 2027, but implementation will not begin and end on that day. Practices need time to review code changes, update internal education, revise documentation expectations, coordinate with billing teams, and monitor payer guidance.

The risk is not only incorrect coding. The bigger risk is inconsistency. If physicians document one way, coders interpret another way, and payers expect something different, practices face delayed claims, rework, denials, and frustration.

A smooth transition starts with shared understanding. Every practice should know what is changing, what is still uncertain, and which internal workflows need attention before claims begin moving under the new structure.

ACOOG Is Hosting a Live Webinar to Help Members Prepare

To help members understand the transition, ACOOG will host a one-hour live webinar, The New Obstetric Codes: Preparing Your Practice for the 2027 Maternity Care Transition, on Monday, August 3, 2026, at 6:00 PM Central Time.

The session will walk through the new code structure, common maternity care reporting scenarios, documentation concerns, and practical steps practices should consider now. Participants will also have an opportunity to submit questions for the faculty.

This session is designed for physicians, residents, practice administrators, coders, billers, educators, and anyone involved in maternity care documentation or revenue cycle operations.

Faculty

Lisa Satterfield, MS, MPH, Senior Director of Health Economics and Practice Management at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, will discuss the coding structure and practice management implications. Her work includes health policy analysis, code development, coding education, and representation at the AMA CPT Editorial Panel and the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee.

Jodi A. Benett, DO, FACOOG (Dist.), Chair of the ACOOG Government Affairs Committee and member of the ACOOG Board of Trustees, will help connect the transition to broader policy, advocacy, and practice concerns affecting osteopathic OB-GYNs.

The Bottom Line

The 2027 maternity care coding transition marks a major shift in how obstetric care is reported. For physicians and practice teams, the goal is not simply to learn new codes. The goal is to build a shared, practical plan for documentation, billing, and workflow changes before the new model goes live.

ACOOG members should use the coming months to ask questions, review internal processes, and prepare their teams. The practices that start now will be in a stronger position when January 2027 arrives.

American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists  ∞