global maternity billing question

[jebond123]

Hi
I understand that there is limited information thus far pertaining to the 2027 maternity coding changes but I am at a loss
of what to tell patients who are asking for a financial estimate. Does anyone have any solutions/work arounds for this?
We have patient's who are due at the beginning of the year and are asking how much they will owe. I have been periodically
checking the insurance websites and they don't have the 2027 allowables posted yet.
Thanks for any input.

 

[RCiscoObGyn]

Hi
I understand that there is limited information thus far pertaining to the 2027 maternity coding changes but I am at a loss
of what to tell patients who are asking for a financial estimate. Does anyone have any solutions/work arounds for this?
We have patient's who are due at the beginning of the year and are asking how much they will owe. I have been periodically
checking the insurance websites and they don't have the 2027 allowables posted yet.
Thanks for any input.

Hi,

I try to keep the explanation as simple as possible because I feel it's confusing for anyone who isn’t a coder or biller (it's confusing enough for me! LOL). I tell patients that maternity billing is changing nationwide in 2027, and right now the only estimate I can give is based on how it’s billed today. I explain that each visit will be billed separately instead of everything being charged at delivery, and that while we don’t expect a major difference in the total cost for routine prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum visits, we won’t know more until the 2027 prices come out. I also let them know that if they need more than routine care, their costs could be a little higher. I tell them to treat the estimate as a ballpark range, and as soon as we have updated information, we’ll reach out to them. I keep a spreadsheet of their contact info so I can return their calls once we know more.