Employer Update: September 18, 2026

Industry Update: New Pregnancy Billing Standards take effect Jan. 1, 2027

We want to make you aware of an important industry-wide change that will affect how pregnancy-related healthcare services are billed beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

The American Medical Association (AMA) is implementing the most significant maternity coding update in more than 30 years. As part of this change, the traditional global maternity billing package will be eliminated, and maternity care services will instead be billed in separate phases throughout the pregnancy journey.

What this means:

• Pregnancy care will be billed across multiple phases, including prenatal care, labor management, delivery and postpartum care.
• Providers may submit multiple claims throughout a pregnancy instead of a single bundled maternity claim.
• This is a nationwide coding and billing change that will affect all health plans and providers.

At this time, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska is evaluating the operational and benefit impacts of these changes and working to ensure a smooth transition. Our goal is to maintain appropriate maternity coverage while adapting to the new industry billing requirements

We will continue to provide updates as additional details become available and will communicate any actions needed by employer groups or members well in advance of the Jan. 1, 2027, implementation date.

If you have any questions, please contact a member of your account service team.