A federal lawsuit challenging the American Medical Association’s (AMA) control of the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set could have a practical consequence for doctors of chiropractic and other healthcare providers: potentially less costly and more open access to the coding infrastructure used by their practices, billing companies and software vendors.
PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA), a healthcare-transparency nonprofit, filed suit on Aug. 13, 2026, in federal court in Illinois. The complaint asks the court to declare that PRA can reproduce and publish the CPT code set without infringing the AMA’s copyright. PRA says it purchased the 2026 CPT codebook and wants to make the codes searchable and freely available online. The court has not ruled on those claims.1-2
The AMA maintains that CPT is copyrighted and that organizations using CPT content in electronic products or other forms need an appropriate license. Its published 2026 rates include $82.50 plus $18.50 per user for its internal end-user licensing model. The AMA says the licensing system supports the continued development and maintenance of the code set.3
So, what could a ruling against the AMA mean for the average chiropractic office in terms of CPT coding? The most direct benefit would probably not be a sudden increase in reimbursement. While a court ruling against the AMA would not by itself change Medicare or commercial payer fee schedules, relative value units, coverage rules, or documentation requirements, the potential benefit is lower friction and greater competition around the tools practices utilize to work with CPT.
If CPT content became freely usable, billing and practice-management software companies could potentially incorporate the code set without passing AMA licensing costs through their products. Developers could also have more freedom to build independent coding, compliance, search and artificial-intelligence tools. Those changes could eventually reduce costs or expand options for practices, although neither result is guaranteed.
For a small chiropractic office, that distinction matters. A DC may use only a small portion of the thousands of CPT codes in the broader system, but the practice’s EHR, billing platform, clearinghouse, coding resources, and other systems may rely on CPT content. The AMA currently states that even when CPT content is already embedded in a software system, the organization using that content needs an appropriate license.3
There is also a transparency argument. If the codes used to describe healthcare services are freely accessible, patients, employers, researchers, and practices could more easily examine the terminology underlying claims and prices. Georgetown Law’s Health Care Litigation Tracker describes the case as an effort to make CPT publicly available and identifies healthcare affordability and transparency as key issues.2
For now, nothing changes for chiropractic practices: CPT remains copyrighted, current payer requirements remain in force, and practices should continue using their existing coding and billing resources. But if PRA ultimately prevails, the result could be significant: not because chiropractors would suddenly receive higher payments, but because one of the private costs and access barriers surrounding the healthcare billing infrastructure could be removed.
References
- PatientRightsAdvocate.org, Inc. v. American Medical Association, No. 1:26-cv-09746, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Complaint, Aug. 13, 2026.
- Georgetown Law Health Care Litigation Tracker. PatientRightsAdvocate.org, Inc. v. American Medical Association; updated Sept. 7, 2026.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS). Updated 2026.
