What Ohio rules should doulas follow? Medicaid regulation creates concerns
In October, Ohio doulas will be able to formally become Medicaid providers.
However, Marie McCausland, chair of the Ohio Doula Advisory Group, said there are still some major concerns which are title protection and disciplinary actions against doulas.
"The Board of Nursing wants to be able to have title protection over the term certified doula and fine any doula who says they're a certified doula if they don't get this certification through the board of nursing,” McCausland said.
But she said doula-certifying organizations, like Doulas of North America (DONA International), already exist. Other certifying organizations in the state include ROOTT in Columbus and Birthing Beautiful Communities in the Cleveland area.
In a statement to WYSO, the Board of Nursing said title protection should be addressed through the Ohio legislature. The board’s role is to enforce the law the legislature makes.
“Our job is on the fast track as the legislature has tasked our team with putting the rules in place by 10/3/2024," the statement said.
In a recent letter to the Board of Nursing, doulas in the advisory group also cited rigid rules, which they said are punitive. This includes rules that say the board "may impose one or more of the following sanctions on an individual who applies for or holds a doula certificate: deny, revoke, suspend, or place restrictions on a doula certificate, or reprimand or otherwise discipline a holder of a doula certificate.”
Sunday Tortelli, another member of the Doula Advisory Group, said these disciplinary actions for doulas are excessive, as doulas provide non-clinic advisory services.
“The rules are in alignment with someone such as a nurse who has much more clinical responsibility than does a doula,” Tortelli said.