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Senate panel hears support for SB 1568 to fine‑tune doula, lactation‑counselor coverage
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Summary
Advocates and insurers told the Senate Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee SB 1568 is a technical, consensus package to clarify doula roles, move lactation‑counselor credentialing to the traditional health worker commission, establish the Oregon Perinatal Collaborative in statute and delay implementation to 2028.
Chair Reynolds opened a public hearing on Senate Bill 1568, a set of technical changes aimed at smoothing implementation of earlier perinatal legislation and formalizing the Oregon Perinatal Collaborative.
Dana Hepper, director of policy and advocacy at the Children’s Institute, told the committee the bill separates birth and postpartum doula roles, clarifies benefit language and shifts lactation‑counselor credentialing to the traditional health worker commission so the role remains community‑based rather than clinically licensed. "Pregnancy and the first year of a child's life are a window of opportunity to protect mother and child's safety and life, support early development, advance equity, and build the parent‑child bond," Hepper said.
Silke Akerson, executive director of the Oregon Perinatal Collaborative, said establishment in statute is the final step to make the collaborative fully functional across hospitals, public health and community partners. Mary Ann Cooper of Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon, one of the insurers that has implemented a doula benefit, described the commercial benefit design in the dash‑1 amendment: a $3,760 annual benefit limit for doula services, indexed to the consumer price index, with flexibility for payers to design payment models that align services to that amount.
Lawmakers asked whether SB 1568 creates new fiscal obligations. Hepper said money to operationalize related work was allocated in the 2025 legislature (implementation funds from prior bills) and that SB 1568 itself is intended as a technical fix rather than a new ongoing fiscal request. Senators also pressed on workforce questions; Hepper noted a statewide doula registry exists and thousands have completed training but fewer are actively practicing and billing.
The committee agreed to carry the work session to Thursday, Feb. 12 so a pending amendment can be tweaked. The public hearing on SB 1568 was closed and the bill will return for work session consideration.
