Profitable Maine hospital closes its maternity ward anyway, board votes August 5

Plus: CMS proposes dual OB billing systems for 2027, ACOG and OBHG oppose. The day's rules, money, and enforcement, sourced and tiered below.

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Plus: CMS proposes dual OB billing systems for 2027, ACOG and OBHG oppose. The day's rules, money, and enforcement, sourced and tiered below.

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The Service Line Thursday, July 30, 2026
Profitable Maine hospital closes its maternity ward anyway, board votes August 5
Plus: CMS proposes dual OB billing systems for 2027, ACOG and OBHG oppose. The day's rules, money, and enforcement, sourced and tiered below.
Other  Confidence: Medium
A rural Maine hospital running a 5.56% margin, better than most of its peers, is still closing its Labor and Delivery unit this December. Even profitable hospitals are giving up on childbirth now.
MaineHealth's board votes August 5 on the closure. Birth volume there is up 43% since 2019; 60% of deliveries are billed to Medicaid. The nearest alternative hospital is 45+ minutes away.
Why it matters
This shows profitable rural hospitals are still closing maternity units, so watch whether the August 5 board vote confirms it and what happens to your own local options.
Sources: Forbes
Rule  Confidence: High
CMS wants doctors and hospitals to run two separate obstetric billing systems at once in 2027, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that's worse than a clean break.
The CY2027 Medicare fee rule proposes 15 new G-codes preserving the old bundled OB payment structure alongside new per-visit codes. Public comments close September 14, 2026.
Why it matters
This is about how complicated OB billing will get in 2027, and whether CMS keeps both an old and new coding system running side by side.
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OB/GYN malpractice premiums rise for a 7th straight year Read
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