Amendment ID: S2899-15

Amendment 15

Doula Advisory Committee

Ms. Edwards, Mr. Oliveira, Ms. Miranda and Messrs. Gomez and Payano move that the proposed new text be amended by inserting after line 405 in section 18 the following text:-

(d) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, there shall be established a committee known as the Doula Advisory Committee. The committee will be dedicated to the advisement, evaluation, services, standards, and scope of the Doula workforce in the Commonwealth.

(1) The committee shall consist of 10-12 members to be appointed by the commissioner of public health, or designee.

(a) All but 2 of the members must be practicing doulas from the community; the remaining 2 members must be individuals from the community who have experienced pregnancy as a MassHealth member and are not practicing doulas.

(b) The members of the committee shall represent a diverse range of experience levels- from doulas new to the practice to more experienced doulas.

(c) The members of the committee shall represent an equitable geographic distribution from across the Commonwealth, including counties with demonstrated inequities in maternal and infant health outcomes.

(2) The committee must be convened within six months of passage of this law.

(3) Of the initial appointments to the Doula Advisory Committee, half shall be appointed to a term of 2 years and half shall be appointed to a term of 18 months. Thereafter, all terms shall be 2 years. The commissioner of public health, or designee, shall fill vacancies as soon as practicable.

(4) At least once every 8 weeks, the Division must meet with the Doula Advisory Committee to consult about at least the following:

(a) the scope of doula services covered by MassHealth;

(b) doula competencies required for reimbursement by MassHealth, and standards of proof or demonstration of those competencies;

(c) the recruitment of a diverse workforce of doulas to provide services to MassHealth members;

(d) the standards and processes around billing for and prompt reimbursement of doula services;

(e) establishing grievance procedures for doulas, MassHealth members, and health care providers about MassHealth’s coverage of doula services and/or the provision of doula services to MassHealth members;

(f) outreach to the public and stakeholders about how to access doula care for MassHealth members,

(g) the evaluation and collection of data on the provision of, outcomes of, access to, and satisfaction with doula care services provided to MassHealth members;

(h) maintaining a reimbursement rate for doula services that incentivizes and supports a diverse workforce representative of the communities served, and establishing a recurring timeframe to review that rate;

(i) how to ensure that MassHealth’s doula reimbursement program is directed towards the goal of reducing inequities in maternal and birth outcomes among racial, ethnic, and cultural populations who reside in all areas within the commonwealth.

(5) Each year, the Doula Advisory Committee must, by a majority vote of a quorum of its members, select an individual to serve as its chairperson for a one year term. The Doula Advisory Committee may replace the chairperson in the same manner mid-term.

(6) The Doula Advisory Committee may, by a majority vote of a quorum of its members, reduce the frequency of meetings with MassHealth to less than once every 8 weeks.

(7) The division and the Department of Public Health shall seek resources to offer reasonable compensation to members of the Doula Advisory Committee for fulfilling their duties, and must reimburse members for actual and necessary expenses incurred while fulfilling their duties.

(8) The division, in partnership with the Doula Advisory Committee, shall conduct at least 1 public hearing or forum each year until three years after passage of this law. The purposes of these hearings or forums shall be to gather feedback from the public and to inform the public about MassHealth’s coverage of doula care.