Comment on CMS-2026-2377-0002

As the administrator of an OB/GYN practice and Certified Profession Coder with 40+ years’ experience in the medical field, I would like to start by saying “Thank You” to CMS for adopting the new maternity care codes as proposed by the American Medical Association. This move will cause less confusion for our patients and steadier cash flow for our practice as under the current global code system, we cannot bill for routine OB services until the patient delivers, which is seven months without receiving payment. I am asking that CMS does NOT approve the proposed G codes that will replace the antiquated bundle codes for maternity care. Adding G codes would cause confusion for both providers & patients. Currently, payers find many excuses for not paying claims and two forms of coding for maternity care would increase the payers’ reasoning for delaying payment or denying claims. Adding G code would also add the burden of additional training and staffing to ensure the coding is done correctly prior to submission to the payer. In addition, having only one set of codes for maternity care will allow not only our practice, but others to gather statistical information to use for future decisions based on sound statistics. Under the current system, we cannot drill down to see where we should focus our resources… should it be office care, triage, ancillary services or hospital services. Having one system will allow everyone to track the statistic and provide accurate information when making decision regarding maternity care. I would like to thank you for taking the time to review this information and I hope serious consideration is given to NOT adopting the use of G codes for maternity care.