Pennsylvania starts a doula apprenticeship, building on a 2024 law that opened Medicaid to doulas

Pennsylvania has started what state officials call the nation's first registered apprenticeship program for doulas, WESA reported Tuesday. Doulas give non-medical physical, emotional and informational support before, during and after childbirth, and the state's goal is to train more of them, especially for lower-income and rural communities.

For families on Medicaid, the point is access: doulas who finish the program will be certified to receive Medicaid reimbursement, according to WESA.

How the program works

The Pennsylvania Statewide Registered Doula Apprenticeship Program lasts a year and combines classroom instruction, supervised clinical work and professional development, WESA reported. It includes eight weeks of online training, a 16-module course led by certified trainers and a two-day in-person session on comfort measures, childbirth education and signs of labor. Applications opened in October through Patients R Waiting, a Lancaster-based organization.

The program involves the state's health and human services department, led by Secretary Val Arkoosh, and the Department of Labor and Industry's workforce office. "Doulas help ensure mothers and their babies have a safe and empowering birth experience," Arkoosh said, according to WESA. The article did not say how much the program costs or where the money comes from.

What the records add

The Medicaid benefit came from a 2024 law. House Bill 1608, from Rep. Morgan Cephas, a Philadelphia Democrat, added doula services to the state's Medicaid program and created a Doula Advisory Board. It had 33 co-sponsors. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed it as Act 115 of 2024 on Oct. 29, 2024.

It was close in committee, then nearly unanimous. The bill's history shows:

• Referred to House Health, Aug. 7, 2023. It sat there for eight months.
• House Health Committee, April 17, 2024: reported as amended, 14-11.
• House floor, May 1, 2024: an amendment was adopted 116-85.
• House final passage, May 6, 2024: 201-0.
• Senate final passage, Oct. 9, 2024: 49-0, after the Senate Rules Committee amended it.
• House concurrence in the Senate's changes, Oct. 21, 2024: 201-1.

Federal approval followed. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved Pennsylvania's state plan amendment adding coverage of and payment for doula services, effective Jan. 1, 2025. To bill Medicaid, doulas must be certified through the Pennsylvania Certification Board, the Pennsylvania Health Law Project explained. The coverage runs through pregnancy, labor and delivery, and up to a year after birth.

So the apprenticeship, two years after the law was signed, gives the state a formal training route to the certification that Medicaid billing requires.

Why officials say it matters

Hemorrhage is among the leading causes of maternal death in Pennsylvania, WESA reported. Research cited in the article links doula support to fewer preterm births, shorter labor, lower cesarean rates and lower risk of postpartum depression.

What happens next

Applications for the apprenticeship opened in October, according to WESA. Families on Medicaid can ask their health plan about covered doula services, which the state's Medicaid program has paid for since the start of 2025.