Medicaid
Public testimony

Testimony for the Senate Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee, Hope Lane SB 328 testimony

Community Solutions Team
Transforming data into progress
Additional Contributors
No items found.
September 22, 2020
Read time:
Download Fact Sheets
Register now
Share this resource
Subscribe to our Newsletter
By subscribing you agree to with our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Download this as a PDF

Senate Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee Chairman Burke  

September 21, 2020  

Chairman Burke, Vice Chairman Huffman, Ranking Member Antonio and members of the Senate Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee thank you for the opportunity to provide interested party testimony on Senate Bill 328. My name is Hope Lane and I am a Policy Associate at The Center for Community Solutions, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that aims to improve health, social and economic conditions through research, policy analysis and communications and advocacy.  

For the past several years, The Center for Community Solutions has been committed to examining and improving maternal and infant health for families in our state. By analyzing disaggregated maternal mortality data, infant mortality reports and other critical statistics such as birth records, we’ve developed policy solutions to help combat an escalating maternal and infant health crisis which includes acknowledging doulas as essential staff for the purposes of childbirth and paying them accordingly for their work.  

The popularity and importance of doulas has risen to the forefront of maternal health discourse as of late, rightfully so. During the ongoing pandemic, hospitals across the country have instituted strict delivery room and visitation limits to enforce social distancing, even during childbirth, allowing no more than one to two people in the room at a time. This has meant that many women have had to go without the midwife or doula that they have worked with throughout their pregnancy to provide emotional, physical and educational support before, during and after the birthing experience.  

Families, particularly families of color, choose to work with doulas because of the proven healthy birth outcomes.  

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), black women are dying at roughly 3 times the rate of white women in birth-related deaths. [1] That statistic gets more dire with age. Black women over age 30, are 4 to 5 times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. [2] Women who experience hemorrhage at hospitals predominantly serving Black patients face a higher risk of severe complications than those who receive care at hospitals with whiter clientele. [3] The inclusion of doulas into the normal course of care before, during and after child birth has been shown to improve outcomes for mothers and infants, while reducing costs associated with care. [4]  

Evidence demonstrates expectant mothers matched with a doula had better birth outcomes than did mothers who gave birth without involvement of a doula. [5]  

Doula-assisted mothers are: • Four times less likely to have a low birth weight baby • Two times less likely to experience a birth complication involving themselves or their baby • Significantly more likely to initiate breastfeeding with all (90.4%) of the adult mothers assisted by a doula.  

Because of this, and the Cochrane Systemic Review of Random Control Studies Regarding Continuous Labor Support,[6] we support insurance reimbursement of doula services and ask that this bill consider state mandated private insurance coverage in addition to Medicaid.  

I want to thank you again for the opportunity to provide interested party testimony as Community Solutions always values the chance to weigh in on policy that would greatly impact the health and wellbeing of Ohioans. We would welcome the chance to share additional research that we have conducted in this space, and are happy to answer any questions that you may have at this time.  

Contact Information: Hope A. Lane Public Policy Associate The Center for Community Solutions 330-329-0345[email protected]  

1. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6835a3.htm?s%5Fcid=mm6835a3%5Fw2. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2019/p0905-racial-ethnic-disparities-pregnancydeaths.html3. https://www.propublica.org/article/how-hospitals-are-failing-black-mothers4. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/birt.122185. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3647727/6. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003766.pub5/full  

Download Fact Sheets

District 10

Download

All Council Districts 2024

Download

District 4

Download

District 2

Download

District 11

Download

District 9

Download

District 8

Download

District 5

Download

District 7

Download

District 1

Download

District 3

Download

District 6

Download

West Boulevard

Download

University

Download

Union-Miles

Download

Tremont

Download

Stockyards

Download

St.Clair-Superior

Download

Old Brooklyn

Download

Ohio City

Download

North Shore Collinwood

Download

Mount Pleasant

Download

Lee-Seville

Download

Lee-Harvard

Download

Kinsman

Download

Kamm's Corners

Download

Jefferson

Download

Goodrich-Kirtland Park

Download

Glenville

Download

Fairfax

Download

Euclid-Green

Download

Edgewater

Download

Downtown

Download

Detroit Shoreway

Download

Cudell

Download

Collinwood-Nottingham

Download

Clark-Fulton

Download

Central

Download

Buckeye-Woodhill

Download

Buckeye-Shaker Square

Download

Brooklyn Centre

Download

Broadway-Slavic Village

Download

Bellaire-Puritas

Download

All Neighborhoods 2024

Download

West Boulevard Factsheet

Download

University Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Union-Miles Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Tremont Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Stockyards Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

St. Clair-Superior Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Old Brooklyn Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Ohio City Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

North Shore Collinwood Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Lee-Seville Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Lee-Harvard Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Kinsman Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Kamm's Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Jefferson Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Hough Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Hopkins Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Goodrich-Kirtland Park Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Glenville Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Fairfax Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Euclid-Green Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Edgewater Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Downtown Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Detroit Shoreway Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Cuyahoga Valley Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Cudell Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Collinwood-Nottingham Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Clark-Fulton Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Central Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Buckeye-Shaker Square Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Brooklyn Centre Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Broadway-Slavic Village Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

Bellaire-Puritas Neighborhood Factsheet

Download

All Neighborhoods 2016

Download

District 2

Download

District 1

Download

Ohio Women Statewide

Download

All Women Fact Sheets

Download

Wyandot Women

Download

Wood Women

Download

Williams Women

Download

Wayne Women

Download

Washington Women

Download

Warren Women

Download

Vinton Women

Download

Van Wert Women

Download

Union Women

Download

Tuscarawas Women

Download

Trumbell Women

Download

Summit Women

Download

Stark Women

Download

Shelby Women

Download

Seneca Women

Download

Scioto Women

Download

Sandusky Women

Download
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Download report

Subscribe to our newsletter

5 Things you need to know arrives on Mondays with the latest articles, events, and advocacy developments in Ohio

Explore the fact sheets

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique.

No Related Fact Sheets

Explore Topics

Browse articles, research, and testimony.

Maternal & Infant Health
Public testimony

Maternal mental health: HCR 16 Proponent Testimony

Natasha Takyi-Micah
June 5, 2024
Behavioral Health
Public testimony

Proponent Testimony on HB 300: remote treatment of opioid use disorder

Dylan Armstrong
April 29, 2024
Maternal & Infant Health
Public testimony

Hospital licensing, maternal and infant health data in Ohio

Community Solutions Team
March 1, 2024
Poverty & Safety Net
Public testimony

Provisions to Improve the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s Quality Control System

Community Solutions Team
November 23, 2023
Maternal & Infant Health
Public testimony

October 11: House Public Health Policy Committee

Community Solutions Team
October 11, 2023