It is my understanding that sometimes insurance companies will cover some, but it is always after the fact, and often it has to be denied the first time (and they aren't consistant about it). That means you pay first and then submit your receipts or claim. I have heard they always refuse the first submission, and that you then try again.

About the homebirth doc's suggestion, one thing which often happens in a homebirth situation is the midwife is there much longer than one would be at a traditional hospital birth; often there isn't as high of a need for a doula at all, as the midwife acts as a doula. With your doctor, I don't know if that changes the situation, but it is important to remember most doula do not offer medical support, so it's not like having a doula there would give the doctor extra time away before the baby's birth -- a doula would not be checking dilation or blood pressure or anything like that -- she is there to provide emotional support. If you wanted someone more medical to stand in as your practitioner for a while, you might look for a monatrice. Of course some doulas do more medical tasks, but traditionally they offer emotional support and are hands-off in regards to medical procedures.

Hope that helps a bit, and others may post more info too.

 

I personally have never submitted a claim to my insurance for a doula, BUT,
I know of many, many people who have submitted their doula's fee to their insurance co. and gotten reimbursed.

Insurance co.s pay the doula's fee because they're NOT paying for the epidural, the anesthesia, the C-sec, the many, many other costs that doula-attended births tend to prevent. There's lots of literature and studies to support this--the actuaries at the insurance companies know it's cheaper to pay for the doula--this is simply not my crunchy opinion.

 

Doulas are sometimes covered by insurance but it usually takes a bit of paperwork and a willingness to fight for it. DONA doulas have specific forms that they can download off the website for reimbursement. If you have a pre-tax spending account through yours or your dh's work that can also be used for doula expenses.
Best,
Amy