As an LPN I'm considering a new career in childbirth education and Labor support. I read other posts related to how to get to become a doula and they answered alot of questions. I have one other question. Are the costs of having a doula attend a childbirth or postpartum client covered under insurance policies?

-- Susan Schubert LPN (greener@ptdprolog.net), April 14, 1999

Answers

Hey susan, good question!! I have never had an insurance pay in full. They will pay partial. that is our goal to show the insurance companys that we are an asset to a pregnant woman. We saved the insurance co. this much money, because our client didnt have a c birth or additional meds. I have been attaching a cover letter along with the insurance form that the client sends to their co. It is addressed to the supervisor. I say, Because a Professional doula attended this birth, this client saved you money in these areas. then i make a column for vag births vs c- births. Epidurals vs. stadol injections + the cost of the anatheoligest. thats all the co. are looking for. are they really saving money? Most of the time they agree. If more doulas did this. maybe we could make the co more aware.

-- Penny harlan (Harlanp@msn.com), April 16, 1999.

This is a subject I am vitally interested in. I am meeting next week with the doula who supported me during my daughter's birth two years ago to discuss ways to nudge, plead and cajole the insurance industry into paying fully for doula services. I am grateful for the suggestion about attaching sheets showing the savings realized in a doula-supported birth. I would love to hear more input from other doulas.

-- Sandra Schumann (bsssejw@msn.com), August 10, 1999.

Good luck to you Susan. Its wonderful work. We are a labor support & postpartum doula service in Chicago. Some of our clients have been successful in receiving reimbursement. Some words of warning & a call for suggestions: You need the proper codes for insurance billing & you need to present your statement in a very particular way (with dates of service, name of insured, group insurance #, member #, & federal tax id number). Even then, the insurance companies send it back for more or different information. It is very frustrating. Then, the other thing we experience is the companies doing everything in their power to delay payment of claims. (Having to fax/send statement 10 x! only to have them say.. "we haven't received anything from your company.") I know from my physician friends & the nurse midwife that I work with as an assistant, that its how they play the game. There is a LOT to know about billing insurance successfully. (Enough for there to be professionals who do only that and for there to be workshops to learn just the basics). For a small business or an individual provider, it can be disastrous to wait months or even a year or more for payment, or to be denied your claim after such a long period of waiting. We ask our clients to pay us & then seek reimbursement. I would love to hear some tips or suggestions and hope that others have had an easier time of it. -Karen

-- Karen Laing (birthway@enteract.com), August 08, 2001.