The AMA is making childbirth more complicated. America should be making it more affordable.

America is facing a family affordability crisis. For millions of Americans, the decision to have a child is no longer based solely on whether they are emotionally prepared to become parents. Increasingly, it is based on whether they believe they can afford to become parents.

That should concern every policymaker in Washington.

Key Takeaways:

• Beginning January 1, 2027, the American Medical Association (AMA) will implement significant changes to maternity care billing codes, arguing that the changes will improve transparency, provide more detailed information about services, and account for the increasingly complex ways maternity care is delivered.

• Insurance companies, employers, government programs, and providers — not the AMA — determine reimbursement and cost sharing. When providers must update billing systems, insurance companies must revise payment structures, medical offices must retrain staff, and contracts must be rewritten. Those costs do not simply disappear. They become part of the broader expense of delivering health care.

• These costs are likely to fall on families having children, which creates another financial obstacle at a time when they already feel they cannot afford children.

• The Trump administration and many lawmakers have recognized that affordability is crucial, and the health care system must recognize it as well. The AMA should reconsider this change, and Congress should continue pursuing policies that lower the cost of childbirth.

The Issue:

A crisis of values… or affordability?

For generations, the American dream was built around the idea that families could work hard, buy a home, raise children, and build a better future for the next generation. While previous generations certainly faced their own challenges, the basic pathway toward family formation was often more attainable.

Today, that pathway has become increasingly difficult.

Young families are facing a combination of economic pressures unlike anything many previous generations experienced:

• Housing prices have surged.

• Childcare costs have become one of the largest expenses facing working parents.

• Healthcare costs continue to rise.

• Inflation has increased the price of everyday necessities, from groceries to transportation.

The result is that many Americans who want children are questioning whether they can realistically afford them. This is not a crisis of values. It is a crisis of affordability.

Americans have not stopped believing in the importance of family. They have not stopped wanting children. They are responding to the reality around them.

When the cost of starting a family becomes overwhelming, fewer people feel confident taking that step. That is why family affordability must be a national priority.

The Trump administration and many lawmakers in Congress have recognized that strengthening American families requires more than simply encouraging people to have children. It requires addressing the economic pressures that make family formation harder. The administration has emphasized lowering costs for working families, expanding opportunities for parents, and creating an economic environment where families can thrive.

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