Doulas improve the experience of childbirth. Now their services will be covered by Medicaid in Utah

After years of being brought up in the Utah Legislature, a bill to have Medicaid cover doula services passed through both the House and the Senate. The bill’s sponsor has also introduced a variety of bills focusing on children’s health and welfare.

SB284, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, will require the state to apply to expand its Medicaid plan to cover doula services. The bill passed through the Senate by unanimous vote last week, and on Wednesday, the House passed the bill with 55 yes votes and 16 no votes.

The bill will now go to Gov. Spencer Cox for his signature.

Escamilla has been working on getting this bill through passed for years, and was successful in 2025. During her time as a lawmaker, she says she has learned that persistence is important, also pointing out changes in the Legislature that helped this bill reach the finish line.

“I also think that we’re seeing more women in the Legislature, and some of the newer legislators are younger, and some of them, even their wives, have experienced working with doulas,” Escamilla said. “We have more people that actually have experience with doulas. That helps a lot.”

The benefits of working with a doula

Annual health care costs associated with preterm delivery across the country is $26.2 billion, studies have shown that the beneficial impact of doula services is associated with an annual savings of $58.4 million.

Escamilla said that not only are doulas cost effective, but having a doula helps provide a better health outcome for both the mother and the child. Doulas have been associated with 3,288 fewer preterm birth annually, and with having fewer C-sections.

She added that while expecting mothers don’t get a ton of face to face time with their physicians who have so many other patients, doulas are there for them through the whole process. These doulas act as a coach through pregnancy, labor, delivery and postpartum to help women understand everything that they are going through.

“The doula becomes the coach, and it helps you, it educates you,” Escamilla said. “The whole experience becomes better.”

The covered doula services would include:

• Training and registration requirements for doulas paid by Medicaid.
• Non-medical advice and information provided by the doula.
• Emotional support provided by the doula.
• Physical comfort provided by the doula.
• Medicaid-covered payments during an individual’s pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum time.

Once the bill goes into law after receiving Cox’s signature, Utah will have to apply to amend the state’s Medicaid plan to cover doula services before Oct. 1.

Sen. Escamilla’s focus on children

“It’s all about kiddos,” said Escamilla, who each year introduces multiple bills focusing on children’s welfare and health care as well as infants and expecting mother as with the SB284.

This year the senator had five bills fall under this focus and she acted as the Senate sponsor for multiple House bills that focused on children as well. She said it is important to her to protect children and to pass legislation that looks out for them.

“We should put our money where our mouth is,” Escamilla said. “It’s something that’s very important to me, because children they’re one of the most vulnerable populations we have. No one else is going to speak for them. And they have, they don’t have control over what they do or their lives, really.”

Escamilla has also had bills fail this session, like SB221, which would have required child care workers to receive a background check and be CPR certified was stopped in the House.

Another bill Escamilla bill that didn’t make it through this year was SB189, which will be known as the Child Care Capacity Expansion Act. The bill, which failed on Thursday, would flip unused, state-owned buildings into child care centers.

“It’s the nature of the beast, and being part of the minority, sometimes it takes longer, and you have to work harder, to get through the whole thing. You have to fight your way through. But I also, I trust the process, I do and in many instances, it doesn’t work in my favor,” Escamilla said about bills that don’t make it through.

The senator pointed out that lately there have been multiple major child abuse cases, and that more needs to be done in response to those and to prevent similar things from happening again.

“We need to do more to red flag some of these cases of isolation, where DCFS can act and help,” Escamilla added.