How to Find a Doula Who Accepts Medicaid in Colorado

Last updated October 2026.

Yes, Colorado Medicaid covers doulas. Since July 1, 2024, Health First Colorado (Colorado's Medicaid program) and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) have paid for doula support during pregnancy, labor and birth, and after birth, at no cost to eligible members. This guide explains what the benefit includes, the one step to take before you choose a doula, and where to find doulas who are enrolled with Medicaid.

What Health First Colorado covers

Prenatal visits: up to 180 minutes per pregnancy.
Labor and birth support: one labor and delivery, paid as a single visit no matter how long labor lasts. Doulas can also support you through a miscarriage or stillbirth.
Postpartum visits: up to 180 minutes per pregnancy.

Prenatal and postpartum visits can happen at home, in a clinic or office, in the community, or by telehealth. Labor support has to be in person. The time limits belong to you, not to the doula: if you work with two doulas, their visits together count toward the same 180 minutes.

The doula benefit does not pay for other services some doulas sell, such as childbirth education classes, massage or infant sleep support. Lactation support is billed separately by providers with a lactation certification.

Who qualifies

You can use the benefit if you:

Are enrolled in Health First Colorado or CHP+.
Are pregnant, or gave birth within the last 365 days.
Have a recommendation for doula care from a licensed provider, such as a doctor, nurse practitioner, midwife, therapist or counselor.

Colorado asks members to get that recommendation before choosing a doula, so bring it up at your next prenatal visit. The doula needs your recommending provider's information to bill Medicaid.

What Medicaid pays doulas in Colorado

Under the Health First Colorado fee schedule that took effect July 1, 2026, enrolled doulas are paid $24.50 per 15 minutes for prenatal and postpartum visits and $882 for labor and birth support. If you use the full benefit, that adds up to $1,470 per pregnancy. You don't pay these amounts; the doula bills Medicaid directly. Doula claims for Health First Colorado members go to the state even if you're in a managed care plan.

Some doulas offer extra visits or services outside what Medicaid pays for. Ask up front what is covered and whether anything would cost you money.

How to find a doula who accepts Medicaid in Colorado

Get your recommendation first. Ask your OB, midwife, family doctor or therapist to recommend doula care and note it in your chart.
Search the Health First Colorado directory. Go to the Find a Doctor tool, enter your city or ZIP code, and choose "Doula" as the provider type. Listings are self-reported, so confirm availability and services with the doula. Doulas listed at 777 Bannock St. work only within Denver Health.
Ask your hospital. Some hospitals employ doulas. Denver Health's program served most of the members who used the benefit in its first year. It mainly offers labor support, with a doula offered when you arrive to give birth, and limited prenatal and postpartum visits.
Post a free request on Bornbir. Tell local doulas that you have Health First Colorado or CHP+, your due date and your ZIP code. Doulas reply, and you can compare them before you choose. Not every doula accepts Medicaid, so confirm enrollment before your first visit.
Interview more than one doula. You can talk with several doulas before you decide.

Questions to ask a Medicaid doula

Are you enrolled with Health First Colorado (or contracted with my CHP+ plan)?
Will you attend my birth in person, and who is your backup if you can't make it?
How will we use the 180 prenatal minutes and 180 postpartum minutes?
Do you offer anything Medicaid doesn't cover, and what would it cost?
Do you speak my preferred language, and have you supported families like mine?

How many doulas take Medicaid in Colorado?

The network is growing but still small, especially outside the Denver area. In the benefit's first year (July 2024 to June 2025), nearly 1,000 members used a doula and 75 doulas provided services. By March 2026, more than 2,000 members had used the benefit and 170 doulas were enrolled. Use in rural and frontier counties was low, partly because few doulas practiced there. If you live outside the metro area, start looking early in pregnancy and ask about telehealth for prenatal and postpartum visits.

Doulas in Colorado's largest cities

Browse doulas in Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora and Fort Collins, or see all doulas in Colorado. Moving or comparing states? See which states cover doula care through Medicaid.

Find a doula who accepts Medicaid near you

Post a free request with your due date, ZIP code and insurance. Local doulas reply, and you choose who to talk with. Bornbir is free for parents; each doula sets their own services, so confirm Medicaid enrollment before you book.