Enroll, Support, Transform — Your Doula Journey Starts Here

In December 2023, MassHealth introduced a doula benefit for birthing people covered by Massachusetts’ Medicaid administrator, MassHealth. Since the launch of this benefit, doulas are encouraged to enroll as MassHealth-reimbursable providers. This benefit allows doulas to be paid for the birthing assistance services they provide to MassHealth members. 

The Center for Maternal Health Advancement (CMHA), formerly the Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice, was awarded funding from the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General to create toolkits to help doulas enroll in the MassHealth doula benefit.

After receiving funding, the study team gathered a group of doula stakeholders to form a Community Advisory Board (CAB), which met bimonthly to review the toolkits' contents and format. In addition, the study team conducted in-depth interviews with Massachusetts doulas who were in the process of enrolling and had already enrolled as MassHealth reimbursable doulas to learn what the toolkits needed. The printable PDF toolkits were developed with all of this data incorporated and were pilot tested to ensure they met the needs of doulas planning to enroll.

Shortly after developing the printable PDF toolkits, CMHA received private foundation funding to develop a more interactive walkthrough guide. The CMHA study team, CAB, and  Accompany Doula Care worked closely with an instructional design company to develop a step-by-step self-paced walkthrough guide that makes the enrollment information more accessible, so that every doula has access to the information they need in the format that best suits their enrollment needs.

To learn more about the MassHealth doula benefit:

• To read the MassHealth press release about the doula benefit, click here.
• For more information about eligibility requirements for MassHealth Doula Providers, click here.
• To access the FAQ sheet for the MassHealth Doula Services Program, click here