Kill The Doula Bill

4 days ago3 min read

Hello Doulas!

I wanted you to be aware of some legislation that will affect you. With that education, you can then choose to contact legislation to help your voice be heard or just ignore this and move on.

SB0044/ HB0295 entered legislation in Jan 2025. “directs the department of health to establish by rule a process for the verification of certification to a person who demonstrates that the person has completed a doula training program that meets certain requirements. - Amends TCA Title 63 and Title 71.” It was creating a state doula certification board to allow TennCare to pay for doula services. We met with Senator Lamar 3 times in the last month to discuss it. She told us that she is creating a state doula board no matter what the doulas want. She also said it was required by the state laws. I then reached out to TennCare to get clarity. I learned that Senator Lamar was not correct. Doulas can be reimbursed by insurance WITHOUT a state doula board. Verification is necessary, but not a state controlled board. A non state entity could do the simple verification.

This is no longer about serving TennCare moms. This is about regulating all doulas in TN. The words connecting to TennCare have been removed from the bill on Monday. Now the bill is only about creating a state doula board. We are unsure what this means or what the fees would be, but Senator Lamar has said it would be $400. She also said that a state doula board will net $1,000,000 annually for the state. The actual legislation states "• It is assumed that the licensing certification fees for doula providers will be set at an amount sufficient to cover any increase in expenditures." The state boards need to be self-sufficient and not require state money to maintain. If it nets $1,000,000, where is that money going? Not into the doula's pockets.

You can read about the bill here: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0044

Some of our concerns for a state doula board are:

•A state board would regulate doula work in the state and tell us what to do or not do.

•Doulas would be subjected to Paying $400 or more which is higher than any other profession

•Additional fees associated with the required trainings for ongoing certification + amongst other things

It goes before the Insurance Committee on Wednesday 3/19 at 4:30 pm at the Cordell Hull Bldg. Please email/call to the committee about your view regarding this bill and the doula profession in TN. Your letter could say something like "I am writing you today about HB0295. I am in _______(opposition/ favor) of this bill as it will _____________ the doula profession. "

We are not pushing for you to have our view, but we wanted to make sure you were aware of this before it is too late. A doulas, we advocate for our clients all the time, but doulas need to advocate for themselves in this case. Who will stand up for us? I hope it is you!

Insurance Committee:

Rep Kumar: rep.sabi.kumar@capitol.tn.gov

(615) 741-2860

Rep Timothy Hill: rep.timothy.hill@capitol.tn.gov

(615) 741-2050

Rep Scott Cepicky: rep.scott.cepicky@capitol.tn.gov

(615) 741-3005

Rep Bob Freeman: rep.bob.freeman@capitol.tn.gov

(615) 741-0709

Rep Rusty Gills: rep.rusty.gills@capitol.tn.gov

(615) 741-0718

Rep Yusuf Hakeem: rep.yusuf.hakeem@capitol.tn.gov