What this means for you: If you are having a baby in 2027, your bills will look different. Starting January 1, 2027, pregnancy care will be billed in a new way. Today, most OB offices send one bill after the baby is born. That one bill is called the global OB package. In 2027, you will get a separate charge for each visit and each part of the birth. Many routine checkups should cost you nothing, but ultrasounds, lab tests, and the birth can still cost money.
In this guide
What is changing with pregnancy bills in 2027
Which pregnancy visits should be free
What to do if you are pregnant now and due in 2027
How to check your bills so you do not pay for a free visit
What is changing and when
What: Pregnancy care will no longer be billed as one bundle. Each visit and each part of the birth gets its own charge.
Who it affects: Anyone getting pregnancy care on or after January 1, 2027.
Starts: January 1, 2027
How much does it cost to have a baby?
Having a baby adds about $18,865 in health costs for people with employer insurance. You pay about $2,854 of that yourself. Your plan pays the rest. These numbers cover care during pregnancy, the birth, and the months after. They do not include your baby's own care.
The amount you pay yourself is called your out-of-pocket cost. It includes your deductible, copays, and coinsurance. Coinsurance is the share of a bill you pay after you meet your deductible, such as 20%.
A vaginal birth adds about $14,768, and you pay about $2,655. A C-section adds about $26,280, and you pay about $3,214.
These figures come from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. They are based on 2018 to 2020 claims from large employer plans. Your costs today may be higher.
What we see on birth bills at Granted
We looked at births on bills people uploaded to Granted in 2025 and 2026. The median bill for a birth was $20,464. Insurance paid a median of $10,698. People still owed a median of $2,834. That is close to the national average above.
People often upload the bills they want help with, so these are not national averages. Many births include only some of their bills. Results vary.
What changes how much you pay
Your deductible and out-of-pocket maximum. Your out-of-pocket maximum is the most you pay in a year for covered, in-network care. After you reach it, your plan pays 100% of covered in-network care.
Whether your OB, hospital, and anesthesia team are in network.
Whether you have a vaginal birth or a C-section.
How long you and your baby stay in the hospital, including any time in the NICU.
Your baby's own bills. Your baby gets separate bills once they are born. Add them to your plan before the deadline. Here is what to do if you missed the window to add your baby.
Medicaid. If Medicaid covers your pregnancy, you should owe little or nothing for pregnancy care.
What 2027 changes about your cost
The 2027 billing change affects when charges arrive and which deductible they count toward.
Each visit now gets its own charge on the date it happens. If your plan year starts January 1, your deductible resets that day. A pregnancy that crosses into 2027 can hit two deductibles. One covers your 2026 visits. The other covers your 2027 visits and the birth.
Researchers have found that people pay more out of pocket when a pregnancy spans two plan years. If you are due in early 2027, call your plan. Ask how much of your 2026 deductible you have met and what resets in January.
How much does a C-section cost?
A C-section adds about $26,280 in total health costs for people with employer insurance.
The median for a vaginal birth is above $15,000. FAIR Health puts the median in-network C-section cost above $19,000. Median means half of births cost more and half cost less. These are total costs before your plan pays its share.
On bills uploaded to Granted in 2025 and 2026, C-sections billed a median of $30,075 per birth. Vaginal births billed a median of $24,666.
About 1 in 3 births in the US is a C-section. The CDC counted 32.4% of births by C-section in 2024.
Why a C-section costs more
It is surgery. It needs an operating room, a surgical team, and anesthesia.
You usually stay in the hospital longer after a C-section.
You may need more follow-up care while you heal.
Why you may not pay much more
A C-section costs about $11,500 more in total than a vaginal birth. You pay only about $560 more, on average. The reason is your out-of-pocket maximum. A birth can push you to it. After that, your plan pays the rest of your covered in-network care for the year.
If your C-section was not planned
A C-section can happen during labor, with little time to check who is in network. The No Surprises Act helps here. At an in-network hospital, it protects you from most out-of-network bills from providers you did not pick. That includes anesthesiologists and assistant surgeons. If you get one of these bills, you should only owe your in-network amount.
How to check a C-section bill
Ask the hospital for an itemized bill. It lists each charge on its own.
Match each charge to a line on your EOB.
Look for the same item or service billed twice.
Check the anesthesia bill. Anesthesia is billed partly by time, so check the minutes listed.
Check that each doctor was in network. If one was not, ask whether the No Surprises Act applies.
In 2027, the surgeon's charge for the birth comes as its own line. Expect it apart from your checkups and your labor care.
What is the global OB maternity billing package?
The global OB package is one bill for most of your pregnancy care. OB stands for obstetrics, the medical care of pregnancy and birth. Your OB office usually sent this bill after the baby was born. It was a single bill that covered your regular checkups, the delivery, and your checkups after the birth.
The global OB package ends on January 1, 2027. The American Medical Association (AMA) writes the billing codes doctors use. Starting January 1, 2027, the AMA says one bundled bill no longer fits how pregnancy care works today. Many people now see more than one care team during a pregnancy. So each part of your care will get its own charge, per the AMA's 2027 pregnancy billing page.
How your bills change if you are having a baby in 2027 in the USA
If you are having a baby in 2027, your bills will look different. Here is the same pregnancy, billed the old way and the new way.
Before 2027: one bill
Checkups during pregnancy: Part of one bill, sent after the birth
Labor and delivery: Part of the same bill
Checkups after the birth: Part of the same bill
Ultrasounds, lab tests, and the hospital stay: Separate bills
Starting in 2027: a charge for each part
Checkups during pregnancy: A separate charge for each visit
Labor: Its own charge
Delivery: Its own charge
Checkups after the birth: A separate charge for each visit
Ultrasounds, lab tests, and the hospital stay: Still separate bills
You will see more lines on your EOB. An EOB, or explanation of benefits, is the paper or online statement your insurance sends after a visit. It shows what your plan paid and what you owe. It is not a bill: how to compare an EOB with a medical bill.
Which pregnancy visits should be free?
Routine pregnancy checkups should be free with most health plans. A federal law, the Affordable Care Act, says most plans must cover certain preventive care at no cost to you. Preventive care is care that keeps you healthy or catches problems early. You should not owe anything for it, even if you have not met your deductible. Your deductible is the amount you pay each year before your plan starts to pay.
HealthCare.gov lists pregnancy screenings that should be free. These include tests for gestational diabetes, hepatitis B, and syphilis, per its preventive care list. If you got a bill for one of these tests, see our guide on what to do when a prenatal lab is billed as diagnostic.
Which pregnancy charges can still cost you money?
Some pregnancy charges can still cost you money in 2027. ACOG, the national group for OB doctors, says you may still owe for ultrasounds, lab tests, and labor and delivery. How much you owe depends on your plan. Your plan's copays and deductible still apply to these charges.
A few things can also make a free visit cost money:
Your doctor is out of network. Free preventive care usually applies only to doctors who work with your plan.
Your plan is an older plan. A few plans from before 2010 do not have to follow the free preventive care rule.
The visit was for a problem. A visit for a pregnancy problem may not count as a routine checkup.
What if you are pregnant now and due in 2027?
If you are pregnant now and due in 2027, your care will be billed both ways. Visits in 2026 are billed under the old rules. Visits in 2027 are each billed on their own, per the AMA's guide for pregnancies that cross into 2027.
This means bills for one pregnancy may come at different times. Your OB office does not have to wait until the birth to bill. If you had your baby in late 2026, the birth is billed the old way. Checkups after the birth in 2027 are billed one at a time. Your plan may have its own rules for this, so call and ask.
How to check your pregnancy bills in 2027
Call your plan before your first 2027 visit. Ask which pregnancy visits are free and what you will owe for the birth.
Check that your doctors are in network. Ask about your OB office and the hospital where you plan to give birth.
Read each EOB when it comes. Look for routine checkups where you owe money.
Compare each bill to its EOB. Wait to pay until the amounts match.
Call the billing office about a charge for a checkup. If a routine visit shows a copay, ask if it was billed as preventive care.
Ask for an itemized bill for the birth. It lists each charge on its own. Here is how to request an itemized hospital bill.
Ask your plan to review a charge you think is wrong. This is called an appeal.
Checklist: questions to ask your plan
Save these questions on your phone. Call the number on the back of your insurance card.
Will my routine pregnancy checkups be free in 2027?
Which checkups after the birth are free?
What will I owe for ultrasounds and lab tests?
What will I owe for labor and delivery?
Are my OB office and hospital in network?
I am pregnant now and due in 2027. How will you handle my bills?
Write down the date, the name of the person you spoke with, and the call reference number.
How Granted can help
Pregnancy brings a lot of bills, and 2027 adds more of them. At Granted Health, we read your EOBs and bills side by side. If you were charged for a checkup that should be free, we can ask the provider to fix it. If your plan says no, we can file an appeal with your OK.
We also check your labor, delivery, and hospital bills for mistakes. Most medical bills have errors. If we find a way to lower what you owe, we handle the calls for you.
If you are looking at a bill like this one, upload it and get a second look before you pay. Free to start. You only pay if we lower your bill.
Frequently asked questions about having a baby in 2027
Is the global OB package going away in 2027?
Yes. The global OB package ends for care on or after January 1, 2027. Instead of one bill after the birth, you will get a charge for each visit and each part of the birth. Ultrasounds and lab tests stay on separate bills, as they are now.
Will my pregnancy checkups be free in 2027?
Routine pregnancy checkups should be free with most plans, as long as your doctor is in network. A visit for a pregnancy problem may cost money. A few older plans do not have to follow the free preventive care rule. Call your plan to check.
Will having a baby cost more in 2027?
It is not yet known if having a baby will cost more in 2027. ACOG says it depends mostly on your insurance company. A birth that needs more care may cost more. A routine birth may cost less. Your copays and deductible still apply to labor and delivery.
Why am I getting so many pregnancy bills in 2027?
You are getting more pregnancy bills because each visit now has its own charge. Before, most of your OB care came on one bill after the birth. Now charges can come throughout your pregnancy. Each one should match a line on an EOB from your plan.
I am pregnant now and due in 2027. How will I be billed?
If your pregnancy crosses into 2027, it will be billed both ways. Visits in 2026 follow the old rules, and visits in 2027 are billed one at a time. Bills for the same pregnancy may come at different times. Ask your plan how it will handle yours.
Who is Granted?
Granted is a digital health advocate that reviews medical bills and EOBs, finds billing errors, negotiates bills, appeals denied claims, and checks eligibility for income based discounts. We can check each pregnancy bill against your EOB, so you do not pay for a visit that should be free. Granted is free to start. If we lower a bill, our fee is 10% of the negotiated savings, capped at $300 per bill.
Key terms in this post
Global OB package: One bill for most pregnancy care, used before 2027.
EOB (explanation of benefits): A statement from your insurance that shows what it paid and what you owe. It is not a bill.
Preventive care: Care that keeps you healthy or catches problems early. Most plans cover it at no cost.
Copay: A set amount you pay for a visit.
Deductible: The amount you pay each year before your plan starts to pay.
In network: A doctor or hospital that works with your plan.
Key takeaways
The global OB package, one bill for most pregnancy care, ends on January 1, 2027.
In 2027, each pregnancy visit and each part of the birth gets its own charge.
Routine pregnancy checkups should be free with most plans in 2027 if your doctor is in network.
Ultrasounds, lab tests, and labor and delivery can still cost money in 2027.
A pregnancy that crosses into 2027 is billed partly the old way and partly the new way.
Sources & More information
American Medical Association, "FAQs: Preparing for CPT 2027 Maternity Care Services code changes," updated Sep 17, 2026. ama-assn.org (checked Nov 2, 2026)
American Medical Association, "CPT 2027 Maternity Care Services code changes," updated Sep 17, 2026. ama-assn.org (checked Nov 2, 2026)
American Medical Association, "FAQs: CPT 2027 coding for maternity care spanning the transition date," Sep 17, 2026. ama-assn.org (checked Nov 2, 2026)
HealthCare.gov, "Preventive care benefits for women." healthcare.gov (checked Nov 2, 2026)
Camille A. Clare and Lisa G. Hofler (ACOG), "Celebrating the end of global maternity care billing," STAT, Jul 23, 2026. statnews.com (checked Nov 2, 2026)
Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, "Health costs associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care," Jul 13, 2022. kff.org (checked Nov 4, 2026)
FAIR Health, "National Median Cost for C-Section Covered by Commercial Insurance Is More Than $19,000," Jun 18, 2025. fairhealth.org (checked Nov 4, 2026)
CDC National Center for Health Statistics, "Births: Method of Delivery," 2024 final data. cdc.gov (checked Nov 4, 2026)
AJMC, "Deductible double jeopardy: patients may pay more out-of-pocket when pregnancy crosses 2 years." ajmc.com (checked Nov 4, 2026)
Granted analysis of births on bills uploaded to Granted, service dates January 2025 to October 2026.
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