There are so many things to explore while you are pregnant it can be quite overwhelming. A doula can help you navigate through your pregnancy and also offer invaluable support during your birth. As doulas are becoming more well known and more people are interested in exploring doula support, the question of how to pay for such services is also raised. Doulas are not medical professionals and are therefore not covered by most medical insurance. I hope that after reading this post that you will have a better idea of if you can personally get doula services covered or at least know where to look to find out!
While doulas are not typically covered by insurance, here are the exceptions:
HSAs and FSAs
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) can be used to cover doula services while taking advantage of these pre-tax dollars. Some HSAs or FSAs have specific rules on how this money can be spent so it’s always best to check with your tax advisor or your plans administrator to confirm if doula services are covered.
Extra Benefits from Private Companies
Some companies offer their employees extra benefits that cover things like IVF, egg freezing, birth doulas and postpartum doulas. One such example of this is Carrot Fertility, a new benefit that is being offered by more and more companies. Some of the companies in the San Francisco Bay Area that offer many of their employees these type of extra benefits are: Google, Apple, Salesforce and Intuit.
You can check in your employee handbook, contact your HR department or ask your company’s benefits administrator to find out more information about what particular benefits your company offers.
Please note, if you are using this type of benefit to cover doula services, make sure that the doula you are planning to hire meets the requirements established by the benefit company.
Medicaid - Covers Doulas In Some States
In California, where I live, some doulas have gone through the process of being approved by MediCal to cover at least some of the fee for service. Some doulas even offer MediCal clients a lower rate so that the entire service is covered.
You can find a list of doulas that accept MediCal Insurance in California here:
If you want to know if doula services are covered by Medicaid in your location, you must look it up by your state. At the time that this was written in 2024, many states have already started to at least partially cover doula services and many others are working towards covering doulas with Medicaid.
The bottom line is that most people that decide to work with a doula will likely have to pay out of pocket; but the difference a doula can make is priceless. And you may be able to have some or all of the expense covered depending on your specific employee benefits or what state you are living in. Do your research to see if you personally can use insurance to cover your doula support.
You can also check out this Birth Doula FAQ to learn more about the process and benefits of hiring a doula:
Mairi Wood is a Birth & Postpartum Doula serving San Mateo & Santa Clara Counties along the San Francisco Peninsula, CA. Her focus is on building relationships with parents to be, providing information and elevating their autonomy during their pregnancy, birth and beyond. She is the owner of Autonomous Birth LLC. She lives with her husband, stepdaughter, three kitties and bearded dragon in the SF Bay Area.
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