The International Doula Institute (IDI) is a pre-approved Medicaid doula training provider in multiple US states. And in other states, IDI’s training meets the educational criteria for Medicaid doula programs. Those states do not require students to complete training through a specific organization.
As Medicaid coverage for doula services continues to expand, more doulas are looking for comprehensive training that meets their state’s requirements. At IDI, we provide evidence-based birth doula education. Our training is designed to prepare you to support families throughout pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum.
Beyond state Medicaid training recognition, the International Doula Institute received the highest overall score in DoulaMatch.net’s doula certification evaluation, earning 23 out of 27 possible points. The evaluation considered both certification requirements and organizational standards, placing IDI first among the organizations evaluated as of August 2026. You can learn more in our article, International Doula Institute Scores #1 on DoulaMatch.net Certification Evaluation.
Not all U.S. states currently offer Medicaid coverage for doula services. Of those that do, requirements vary. The International Doula Institute is actively working to expand recognition of our training in additional states that offer Medicaid doula benefits.
While completing an accepted training program is an important step, individual Medicaid provider enrollment and reimbursement requirements vary by state.
It’s also important to note that the majority of doulas do not work with Medicaid or commercial insurance plans. Most doulas opt to provide direct to family services. Currently, there are no federal requirements to serve families as a doula.
IDI Pre-Approved Medicaid Doula Training
As mentioned, every state is unique in how they manage their Medicaid Doula programs. Some states have pre-approved doula trainings. In those states, doulas must complete a program approved by the state in order to be able to bill Medicaid.
Among the states that have pre-approved trainings, IDI is approved in these states:
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.)
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
Each state has unique requirements to become enrolled in their state certification, licensure, Medicaid provider, etc. In all but one state (Montana), certification and licensure remain completely optional. As non-medical providers, this is completely expected and most states will likely remain optional.
IDI Meets State Medicaid Requirements
In some states, state certification recognizes that doulas can be trained in a variety of ways and still provide excellent, evidence-based care. For those states, rather than only pre-approved trainings, your training must simply cover certain topics and a minimum number of hours.
In addition to being pre-approved in the above states, we meet the education criteria in the following:
- California
- Delaware
- Florida
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- New Mexico
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
For these states, additional requirements may be necessary such as providing your certification syllabus or an attestation. We keep a syllabus available and can email a copy to any student who needs it.
Become a Medicaid Doula
Working with Medicaid varies significantly state to state. And some states, such as Tennessee and Alaska, do not offer doula coverage through Medicaid.
If your state does approve Medicaid Doulas and we are not yet a pre-approved training, please know we are in the process of becoming pre-approved in the few states we aren’t yet approved in.
However, if your state does cover doulas through Medicaid, and we are pre-approved, you will need to go through your states website, often the Department of Public Health or Human Services, to apply.
As mentioned, you are NOT required to become a Medicaid approved doula, to accept Medicaid or commercial insurance, or become licensed (except Montana) to serve families as a doula.
If you are not already a certified doula, you can begin your training today!
Author: Aliza Juliette Bancoff
Aliza Juliette Bancoff is a well-known doula and doula trainer who has been providing doula services to families for over a decade. She is the founder of Main Line Doulas, a doula group providing doula support in the great Philadelphia area for the last decade, the International Doula Institute, which provides online doula training and lactation training and certification programs and the International Breastfeeding Institute which provides lactation training and certification. She is the co-founder of United Birth, a company devoted to increasing access to doulas across the country to make the perinatal time safer both physically and emotionally. “Every birthing person deserves access to quality doula support. And we are working to make that a reality across the country. The work we are doing to get doulas to every birthing person will decrease the black infant and maternal mortality rate significantly by 2030.” Says Bancoff. Aliza is known for her compassionate and empowering approach to doula work, and she has been featured in numerous media outlets, including United Nations Maternal Health Report, Parent Magazine, CafeMom, theBump and many more. Aliza's journey into doula work began when she gave birth to her first child and felt a strong calling...