Montana officials said they are moving forward with plans to allow Medicaid to pay doulas, reversing a previous statement that budget problems had prompted them to pause the effort to reimburse the birth workers.
But officials warned that all optional Medicaid services are still under review as the state health department looks for cuts to offset a shortfall driven by higher-than-expected Medicaid costs.
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Jon Ebelt, a spokesperson with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, said the agency is preparing a request to the federal government to add doula care to the state’s Medicaid program. It would cost the state about $118,000 in its first year to provide doula Medicaid reimbursements, according to state estimates.
His April 15 comments came three weeks after department officials told KFF Health News that the state budget deficit had put those plans on hold. Ebelt denied that a final decision had been made in March to scrap the doula Medicaid payments, which state lawmakers approved in a bill last year. The coverage is “now proceeding as planned,” he said.
“At the time of your initial inquiry, we were still in the process of analyzing the appropriation,” Ebelt said.
Federal health officials must approve any amendments to the state’s Medicaid program before payments can begin. At least 25 other states reimburse doulas through Medicaid.
Doulas are trained, nonmedical workers who support people through pregnancy and after they give birth. The care they provide is linked to reductions in health complications, which has prompted more states to cover doula services in recent years.
Montana lawmakers who supported expanding Medicaid to cover doula care in 2025 cited scarce maternity services, especially in rural …