Maternity Care Reimbursement Changes Explained

Looking forward to hosting this conversation at 10am ET today! When researching for the WHIS (Women's Health Innovation Summit) programme this year the goal has always been providing content focused on impact. Not just reporting developments (you can use an LLM for those), but providing actionable analysis and initiatives to the industry that positively impact both patients and bottom line. The unbundling of maternity care emerged as one of the biggest changes impacting providers, employers, patients, health plans and digital health companies across the US this year and next and some of the confusion around what's planned and the impact this will have on those groups especially after this month's CMS announcement meant we couldn't wait for October to host the conversation. Neel Shah of Maven Clinic's substack was my introduction to this topic and a great pre-read for today's conversation. https://lnkd.in/e628n6hx Planning to join us? Register here - https://lnkd.in/ePNkkMsU Michelle Andrews Barbara Levy, MD, FACOG, FACS Jeff Levin-Scherz

We're partnering with Maven Clinic for our upcoming webinar! Unbundling Maternity Care Explainer: Understand What the July CMS Update Means for Your Organization August 6, 2026 | 10:00 AM EDT In mid-July, CMS published proposed relative values for new maternity CPT codes, opening a 60-day comment period ahead of final values in November 2026. This session breaks down what the proposal means for health plans, employers, provider groups, and digital health companies. 🎤 Featuring: Neel Shah, Chief Medical Officer at Maven Clinic Michelle Andrews, Contributing Writer at KFF Health News Barbara Levy, MD, FACOG, FACS, Ex-VP Health Policy at ACOG Jeff Levin-Scherz, Population Health Leader, Health Management Practice at WTW Whether you're a health plan preparing for reimbursement shifts or an employer rethinking maternity benefits, this is the briefing to have on your calendar. Register now: https://lnkd.in/ed9QsCZ2 #WHIS #WomensHealth #MaternityCare #DigitalHealth #HealthPolicy #CMS

We've been talking a lot about the 2027 Maternal Health Unbundling lately. Something worth understanding during your renewal negotiations: the 2027 maternity billing changes may make the financial case for doula benefits significantly cleaner. Under the current global billing model, doula support was difficult to isolate in claims data. The outcomes were visible — lower C-section rates, fewer complications, shorter hospital stays — but the direct financial correlation to cost reduction was hard to document in a way that moved benefits decisions. Under unbundled billing, employers will have granular data showing the direct relationship between doula support and reduced high-intensity medical billing. Late-night emergency visits, unnecessary interventions, complications that generated additional claims — all of it will be more traceable. For the first time, employers will be able to see not just the outcomes, but the specific cost line items that doula support displaced. If doula benefits have been on your list as a "we should consider this eventually" item, the 2027 model changes the evidentiary basis for that conversation. Is doula support something your organization has explored? #MaternalHealth #EmployeeBenefits #HRLeadership #DoulaSupport #BenefitsStrategy ---

We've been talking a lot about the 2027 Maternal Health Unbundling lately. Something worth understanding during your renewal negotiations: the 2027 maternity billing changes may make the financial case for doula benefits significantly cleaner. Under the current global billing model, doula support was difficult to isolate in claims data. The outcomes were visible — lower C-section rates, fewer complications, shorter hospital stays — but the direct financial correlation to cost reduction was hard to document in a way that moved benefits decisions. Under unbundled billing, employers will have granular data showing the direct relationship between doula support and reduced high-intensity medical billing. Late-night emergency visits, unnecessary interventions, complications that generated additional claims — all of it will be more traceable. For the first time, employers will be able to see not just the outcomes, but the specific cost line items that doula support displaced. If doula benefits have been on your list as a "we should consider this eventually" item, the 2027 model changes the evidentiary basis for that conversation. Is doula support something your organization has explored? #MaternalHealth #EmployeeBenefits #DoulaSupport #BenefitsStrategy ---

What must change to make maternity care safer in England? Two major independent reviews published just days apart have painted a deeply concerning picture of maternity services, identifying avoidable harm, failures to listen to women, staffing pressures, and workplace cultures that have allowed mistakes to go unaddressed for far too long. In our latest article, Kate McCue, Partner in our Medical Negligence team, examines the findings of both the Amos Review and the Independent Review into maternity services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. She explores what the reports reveal about the current state of maternity care, why many of the same failings continue to be identified, and what needs to happen to help prevent avoidable harm in the future. Kate also shares her perspective on why listening to women is a patient safety issue, the importance of accountability, and why meaningful action, rather than further recommendations, is now needed. 📖 Read Kate's full article on our website: https://lnkd.in/eiWWrXMb #MedicalNegligence #MaternityCare #PatientSafety #NHS #MaternityServices #Healthcare #ClinicalNegligence #PatientCare #SimpsonMillar 

One of the biggest fears many female practice owners don't talk about... "What happens to my patients when I go on maternity leave?" It's a question that weighs heavily on many female therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, coaches, and solo practitioners. You've spent years building trust. You've earned your patients' confidence. Then life happens. You prepare for maternity leave, knowing your patients may need support while you're away. Some will continue with a covering provider. Some may pause care. Others may choose a different clinician. And there's no guarantee every patient will return. That's why continuity of care matters. A well-managed practice doesn't go silent just because the provider is temporarily away. A Medical Virtual Assistant can help by: - Keeping communication warm and professional. - Coordinating with covering providers. - Managing appointment schedules before, during, and after leave. - Responding to non-clinical patient inquiries. - Organizing follow-up lists for your return. - Ensuring administrative tasks don't pile up while you're focused on your growing family. Patients remember how they were treated, not just during appointments, but throughout their entire experience with your practice. When they feel informed, supported, and cared for, they're far more likely to return when you're back. Maternity leave shouldn't mean starting your practice from scratch. With the right systems and administrative support in place, you can step away with greater confidence and return to a practice that's ready to welcome you back. To every female practice owner planning for motherhood: your practice deserves a continuity plan just as much as your patients deserve continuity of care. #MedicalVirtualAssistant #PrivatePractice #SoloPractitioner #MentalHealthPractice #PracticeManagement #PatientExperience #MaternityLeave #HealthcareOperations #Women'sHealth #PracticeOwner

Maternity billing is changing in 2027 — and most employers haven't caught on yet. I've outlined how employers can get ahead of this shift and what it means for their benefits strategy. Get the quick rundown here, or join me next week as I talk through how employers can prepare: https://lnkd.in/d5mnNgtv 📅 Wednesday, July 22, 1:00–1:45 PM ET Register here: https://lnkd.in/ehrXF-9p Reproductive & Maternal Health Compass (RMH Compass) #ReproductiveHealth #MaternalHealth #EmployerBenefits

CMS has published its proposed relative values for the new maternity CPT codes. The 60-day comment window is open now. Final values land in November. Which means the number that determines what maternity care is worth - for health plans, employers, provider groups and digital health companies - is being set over the next few weeks. WHIS is hosting an industry briefing to unpack what the proposal actually does. The Speakers: Jeff Levin-Scherz, Population Health Leader, Health Management Practice, WTW Dr. Barbara Levy, former VP Health Policy, ACOG Neel Shah, Chief Medical Officer, Maven Clinic Michelle Andrews, Contributing Writer, KFF Health News Free to attend on August 6, 10:00am EDT. Register: https://hubs.ly/Q04r6DyF0 #WHIS #WomensHealth #MaternityCare

Supporting mothers and babies should transcend party lines. A healthier America begins with healthy moms and healthy babies. New polling finds that 77% of voters believe America's maternal healthcare system needs improvement, while roughly 80% say they are more likely to support a candidate who backs maternal healthcare reform. The Gingrich 360 team looks at the growing bipartisan effort to expand access to prenatal and postpartum care, support new mothers, and make healthcare more affordable for American families. Read more: https://lnkd.in/e9kNGei4

Community health workers and care navigators are not a nice-to-have. They are not overhead. They are not support staff sitting adjacent to the real clinical work. They are the connective tissue that holds the whole system together. Underfund them and you are not cutting overhead. You are cutting the connective tissue that holds the whole care experience together. Safe Babies Safe Moms was built on this understanding. Our healthcare system is extraordinarily complex. Prenatal appointments. Specialist referrals. Behavioral health follow-up. Social services coordination. Legal advocacy. Nutrition support. Pediatric care linkages. A mother navigating all of that -- often on Medicaid, often working multiple jobs, often without reliable transportation -- is not just managing a pregnancy. She is managing a second full-time job just to access the care she is supposed to receive. Care navigators and community health workers are the people who walk alongside her through that. They reduce stress. They build trust. They catch what falls through the cracks between appointments. They make the difference between a patient who stays engaged with care and one who disappears from the system at exactly the moment she needs it most. In Safe Babies Safe Moms, care navigation was not an add-on. It was a core clinical function embedded across the care continuum. And the outcomes data shows what happens when you design it that way. The question for payers and policymakers is simple. You can fund the navigator or you can fund the crisis that happens when there is no one walking with the patient. The math is not complicated. Source: Thomas AD et al. D.C. Safe Babies Safe Moms: A Novel, Multigenerational Model to Reduce Maternal and Infant Health Disparities. NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery. February 2025. #MaternalHealth #HealthEquity #SafeBabiesSafeMoms #PatientSafety #HealthPolicy