| | This Issue Update newsletter is part of a series that provides more information on each priority issue on the Alliance's 2025 Legislative Agenda. The Legislative Agenda is crafted annually in partnership with early childhood organizations that are advancing legislative policy solutions related to health, safety, food security, economic security, and early care and education. The priority issues were selected by the Alliance's Steering Committee. | | | | | | | | Access to Doula Coverage: Medicaid Coverage for Community Doula Care Doula support is an evidence-based non-clinical service that provides both short- and long-term positive impacts for birthing families. Providing more access to doulas promotes more equitable, safer, less expensive births, and improves perinatal outcomes in the short- and long-term. Doula care is also correlated with improved infant-parent bonding and less postpartum depression and anxiety throughout the perinatal period. The Alliance supports the efforts of the Vermont Doula Access Coalition to secure policy changes that will enable Vermont families covered by Medicaid to access the support of a Community Doula, who can provide care and advocacy during the perinatal period that meets the self-determined needs of the birthing person. Legislative Update The Senate Government Operations Committee is currently considering legislation, S.53, to create a voluntary certification process for community-based doulas and enable future Medicaid reimbursement for these services. We expect the Committee to take testimony on the certification part of the bill next week, and then expect it to go to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee to look at the Medicaid funding portion of the bill. If it makes it through the legislative process, Medicaid coverage would likely not begin until July 1, 2026. | | | |  | Data and Talking Points - In Vermont, in 2021, there were 2,021 Medicaid births, about 38% of total births in the state.
- Currently all but four states are somewhere in process of proposing or implementing Medicaid coverage for birth doulas
- Doulas offer non-clinical, non-medical, human-to-human support. Doula care is emotional support.
- Studies show that doula care leads to a 30% reduced risk of labor induction, a 28% reduced risk of cesarean section, and a 14% reduced risk of a newborn admission to the NICU.
| | | | | |  | | | Lead Organization Doula Association of Vermont The Doula Association of Vermont is a professional organization dedicated to supporting and advocating for doulas and the families they serve throughout the state. The association provides a network for doulas to connect, share resources, and continue their education through workshops, training sessions, and peer support. By promoting the role of doulas, the association aims to enhance the childbirth experience, offering physical, emotional, and informational support to birthing individuals and their families and advocating for Medicaid coverage for doulas in Vermont. Through their efforts, the Doula Association of Vermont seeks to empower families, improve birth outcomes, and foster a community of compassionate care. | | | | | | | |  | Alliance ‘25 Legislative Agenda Issue Spotlight – Doula Coverage and PCCN – 2/24 The Alliance’s series of virtual Issue Spotlights, which focus on issues from the Alliance’s 2025 Legislative Agenda, continues next week. Our next session will be held Monday, February 24, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm, and will focus on Medicaid funding for community doula care and the Parent Child Center Network request for funding for their tobacco cessation programs. Led by representatives from the Doula Association of Vermont and the Vermont Parent Child Center Network (PCCN), this session is a great opportunity to learn more about each of these issues, get an update on how they are progressing in the legislature, and how to get involved. | | | | | |  | | | | |  | | | | | The Vermont Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance is a statewide coalition formed in 2000 of early childhood professionals, parents, organizations, businesses, and strategic partners committed to improving public policies that impact young children between birth and age eight in the areas of health, safety, food security, economic security, and early care and education. The Alliance crafts an annual Legislative Agenda in partnership with early childhood organizations, provides year-round advocacy support, and facilitates meaningful interactions with policymakers at key times during the decision making process. | | | | 7 School Street | Montpelier , Vermont 05602 vecaa.org The Vermont Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance is a program of the Vermont Community Loan Fund. | | | | | | | | | |
