Payment in Practice: Conversations for OB/GYNs

In this episode of Payment in Practice, ACOG's Health and Payment Policy team members  break down the upcoming transition from global obstetric codes to Evaluation and Management (E&M) codes for antepartum care. They explain why the change is necessary, walk through the critical transition timeline, clarify which E&M codes apply to different care settings, and outline what OB/GYNs need to know about the TH modifier, prior authorization risks, and down coding concerns — with resources to help practices prepare ahead of the January 1, 2027 launch. To learn more about payment parity and OB code changes visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy for Obstetric Services and Payment for Obstetric Services pages.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In this episode of Payment in Practice, host Lisa Satterfield sits down with Dr. Judy Volker — ACOG's CPT Advisor and longtime member of the Committee on Health Economics and Coding (CHEC) — to pull back the curtain on how CPT codes are actually created. From understanding Category 1 vs. Category 3 codes, to navigating the AMA's rigorous literature requirements, to submitting a new code with ACOG's support, this episode is an essential primer for any OB-GYN who wants to understand the process behind the procedure codes they bill every day.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In this Payment in Practice podcast, tuned in for a discussion with expert coders as they discuss how to code IUD removal when a hysteroscope is used but the device is not embedded. In their conversation they reference the uses for different CPT and diagnostic codes for as related to simple and more complex IUD removal so that services can be adequately billed for service. Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In this episode of Payment in Practice, listen in to ACOG Senior Manager of Clinical Coding and expert coding consultant Brad Hart discuss how to code and seek appropriate reimbursement for unusually complex surgical cases, using the 22 modifier.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In September 2025 the AMA CPT Editorial Panel voted to delete the OB global codes effective January 1, 2027 and in January 2026 the AMA RUC discussed the codes at length to assign values (see page 2022). This is all due to advocacy by ob-gyns engaging through surveys and ACOG's Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal, and work performed by the members of the Committee on Health Economics and Coding, to make sure ob-gyns get paid for the work they perform.So what is happening now?Get the latest update and find out how to find out more information as it becomes available!

In this Payment in Practice podcast episode, join us for another conversation with  expert coders, Kehinde Taiwo and Brad Hart. In today's conversation listen in on how to report VNOTES (vaginal natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery) services for a patient undergoing hysterectomy with bilateral salpingectomy using a VNOTES device. They explain that differences and similarities of VNOTES and vaginal surgery along with the ACOG Committee on Health Economics and Coding (CHEC) recommendations for CPT codes that would be reflective of the a VNOTES procedure as no CPT code currently exists.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In this episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, our coding experts have a conversation on how to report sterilization performed as a bilateral salpingectomy at the time of a scheduled repeat cesarean delivery. Tune in as they overview the process of CPT codes updates and explain bilateral salpingectomy has become common and is supported by ACOG Committee Opinion 774 for ovarian cancer risk reduction.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In our twelfth episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, the Health and Payment Policy Team discusses their policy work in 2025 and looks ahead to their planned advocacy projects in 2026.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In our eleventh episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, coders, physicians, and panelists who attended the Payment in Practice: In Person! conference discuss their experiences learning about coding and billing from the CHEC and ACOG’s Health and Payment Policy Team.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In our tenth episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, the CHEC committee’s Gwenn Jackson, MD, FACOG; Eilean Attwood MD, MPH, FACOG; and Lauren MacAfee, MD, FACOG discuss best practices for documentation to support coding for obstetrics and gynecology services. Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In our ninth episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, the CHEC committee discusses things to remember when coding and documenting patient visits, and how to avoid common errors when doing so. Our CHEC experts include John Horton, MD, FACOG; Jon Hathaway, MD, PhD, FACOG; Judith Volkar, MD, FACOG; and Lisa Hofler, MD, MPH, MBA, FACOG. Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

Meet Dr. Adrienne Zertuche, who went from residency to private practice. She talks about the advantages she enjoys being in a group practice, what she has learned and the importance of mentorship from the business of medicine perspective. Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In our seventh episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, viewers will hear guidance on how to effectively and efficiently code for obstetric and gynecology services from the CHEC's Gwenn Jackson, MD, FACOG; Nichole Mahnert, MD, FACOG; David Holtz MD, FACOG; and Gregory DeMeo, DO, FACOG.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

This bonus episode for Payment in Practice provides actionable steps to establish a collaborative care model into obstetric practices for the management of perinatal mental health. Dr. Emily Miller, Director of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, talks about her work establishing an integrated behavioral health collaborative care team and how this model can be scaled for many practices.This podcast episode is sponsored by Sage Biogen.

In our first ever bonus episode, we have a discussion with Dr. Alex Peahl, Assistant Profession of University of Michigan Health and a primary author of the new Tailored Prenatal Care guidance published by ACOG in May of 2025. We learn how the guidance kept maternal mental health top of mind during the development, and tailored care meets the individual needs of all pregnant patients, especially those with mental health conditions. This podcast is sponsored by Sage Biogen. 

In our sixth episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, viewers will hear about the practical considerations of billing and coding to understand when you’re first out of residence and beginning your practice! Viewers will hear from the CHEC’s David Holtz, MD, FACOG; Eilean Attwood MD, MPH, FACOG; Judith Volkar, MD, FACOG; and Lauren MacAfee, MD, FACOG.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In our fifth episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, listeners will learn about the business of medicine from an interview with Grant Cox MD, FACOG, including why it's important to learn business principles as physicians regardless of their career level, key business skills that he has learned over time, how to strike a balance between medical responsibilities and demands of the business, billing and coding, and so much more.ACOG has partnered with the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and Johns Hopkins University to offer Business of Medicine coursework to help members learn more about the business of medicine. Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In our fourth episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, viewers will learn about the RUC survey that is sent to ACOG members to determine the physician work and time for a modified or new procedure code. Viewers will hear about the survey and CPT code development process from the CHEC’s John Patrick Horton, MD, FACOG; David Holtz, MD, FACOG; and Lisa Hofler MD, MPH, MBA, FACOG. Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.

In our third episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, viewers will hear from the CHEC's Jon Hathaway, MD, PhD, FACOG about Relative Value Units, or RVUs, that are used to quantify the value of a physician’s services by insurance companies and healthcare systems. Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website. 

In our second episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, viewers will learn about global coding packages, that are intended to ease the process of billing and coding by bundling the professional and ancillary services associated with a patient’s care into one bill. Viewers will hear expert opinions from the CHEC’s Jon Hathaway, MD, PhD, FACOG; Nichole Mahnert, MD, FACOG; Gwenn Jackson, MD, FACOG; and Eilean Attwood, MD, MPH, FACOG.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website. 

In our first episode of the Payment in Practice podcast, viewers will learn about ACOG’s Committee for Health Economics and Coding, or CHEC, and how they advocate for ACOG fellows and members to receive fair and equitable payment for the physicians’ work and time. Hear from CHEC's Gregory DeMeo DO, FACOG, Gwenn Jackson MD, FACOG, and Eilean Attwood MD, MPH, FACOG.Have any coding questions? Visit the ACOG Payment Advocacy and Policy Portal and submit your question today! To learn more about our coding resources in general, visit our website.