JHF Participates in Statewide Doula Roundtable Celebrating Progress in Pennsylvania
Type: News
Focus Area: Women’s Health
From left to right: Dr. Sharee Livingston, Rep. Morgan Cephas, Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, Gerria Coffee, Sara Goulet, and Carolyn Byrnes.
On October 22, the Black Maternal Health Caucus co-chairs, Representatives Morgan Cephas, La’Tasha Mayes, and Gina Curry, hosted a Doula Roundtable to provide insight into doula care, educate doulas across the commonwealth on the resources and opportunities available through the PA Doula Commission, and highlight the work of the BMHC, including HB 1608, a momnibus bill introduced by Representative Cephas. HB 1608 requires Medicaid coverage of doula services and establishes the Doula Advisory Board within the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). This bill received final passage earlier this month and was signed by the Governor on October 29.
The roundtable included Gerria Coffee, Executive Director of the PA Doula Commission; Dr. Sharee Livingston, chair of the OB-GYN Department at UPMC Lititz and Founding Board Member of Patients R Waiting; Sara Goulet, Special Advisor to the Secretary at DHS; and JHF Policy Director Carolyn Byrnes, MPH, CPH.
A doula is a trained professional who provides physical, emotional, and informational support to individuals before, during, and after childbirth to help them achieve a safe and positive birth experience. Research shows that doula care is associated with lower rates of c-sections and preterm birth, decreases in maternal anxiety and depression, and lower healthcare costs. Doula care has also been shown to help reduce racial disparities in birth outcomes for both the birthing person and baby. In Pennsylvania, the maternal mortality rate is two times higher among black birthing people than their white counterparts, and doula care plays a crucial role in addressing this disparity.
JHF is a longtime supporter and advocate of doulas, convening the Statewide Doula & Perinatal CHW Advisory Group in 2021 and advocating for policy solutions (https://jhf.org/policy-agenda) to remove access and payment barriers long faced by doulas and birthing people seeking doula care. At the roundtable, Sara Goulet announced that the Pennsylvania DHS is adding doulas as a state plan service effective 1/1/25. Doulas will be able to enroll and bill independently with a referral. DHS will pay for up to 12 prenatal and postpartum visits per calendar year along with a separate labor and delivery fee per pregnant person. Doulas will also be able to bill for up to two fertility and pre-conception counseling, pregnancy loss, infant loss, or termination of pregnancy visits. Pregnant and postpartum people will benefit greatly from these services.
The roundtable concluded with a ceremonial check presentation to the PA Doula Commission in the amount of $250,000 to fund their work supporting doulas and providing doula care to birthing people across Pennsylvania. These funds are part of the federal Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds. JHF serves as the fiscal agent for these funds provided through the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to reduce maternal mortality, morbidity, and to support new families in Pennsylvania.
Doula Roundtable
From left to right: Sara Goulet, Rep. Morgan Cephas, Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, Gerria Coffee, Dr. Sharee Livingston, and Carolyn Byrnes.
From left to right: Gerria Coffee, Sara Goulet, and Carolyn Byrnes.