A few weeks ago, the National Uniform Claim Committee- the organization that, among other things, assigns taxonomy codes for insurance reimbursement- decided that doulas are healthcare providers worthy of receiving third party insurance reimbursement! On Thursday, I applied for my National Provider Identification number and received it yesterday. Now, my clients can send a copy of my invoice to their insurer and maybe, possibly, god-willingly, their insurance will cover some or all of my bill. I already know of one doula who was paid by an insurance company.
This is a fantastic step for doulas towards gaining recognition as legitimate providers of healthcare services. I explain this on my website, but I think Debra Pascali-Bonaro, doula, childbirth educator, and doula trainer (my trainer in fact!), says it even better: "When we look at the data, we know that having a doula is not only nice, it shortens labor, makes it easier, lowers the cesarean birth rate, lowers the use of all interventions and actually helps the baby have a healthier birth. We often say, with that data, if the doula were a drug, we'd all be scrambling for it. It would be unethical to without it." If the doula were a drug, insurance companies would cover it like nothing else.
One small step for the insurance industry, one giant leap for doulas!
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