OB/GYN billing is structured differently from most specialties, built around the global maternity package alongside separately billable procedures and well-woman visits. Understanding exactly where that global package begins and ends is the single most important skill in this specialty's billing.
What the Global Maternity Package Covers
The global package generally bundles routine antepartum care, delivery, and routine postpartum care into a single billed episode — which means services within that scope shouldn't be billed separately.
What Falls Outside the Global Package
Complications, additional visits beyond the routine schedule, and unrelated GYN procedures performed during the pregnancy episode are often separately billable — but only when documentation clearly distinguishes them from routine global care.
Common Denial Triggers
Billing routine antepartum visits separately from the global package, or failing to clearly document why an additional visit falls outside routine care, are two of the most common OB/GYN denial triggers.
Getting It Right
Clear tracking of what's included in the global period, paired with documentation that explicitly separates complications and additional services from routine care, is what keeps OB/GYN billing accurate and denial-free.