Overview of Claims within Doulado

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Submitting insurance claims can be complex, but Doulado is designed to simplify the process and help streamline claim submission and tracking for doula services. Whether you’re new to billing or already experienced, our system provides the tools needed to manage claims more efficiently.

That said, it’s important to understand that doula insurance coverage is still evolving. Coverage rules, reimbursement requirements, and claim outcomes vary by payer and state, and reimbursement is never guaranteed—even when claims are submitted correctly. While Doulado support can offer general guidance, it is ultimately the doula’s responsibility to understand and follow each payer’s specific requirements.

Required Plans & Compliance

To use Doulado’s claims processing features, you must have an active Premium or Impact plan. These plans include a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which is required for HIPAA compliance and for submitting claims to insurance companies.

Even solo providers must be on a Premium plan for HIPAA compliance. Premium and Impact plans also allow you to add team members to collaborate with partners or backup doulas as needed.

The following fees apply and are automatically deducted from your Doulado funds balance:

  • Claim submission: $1.00
  • Insurance eligibility verification: $1.00
  • ERA (Electronic Remittance Advice) receipt: $1.00

These fees cover the cost of integrating with our clearinghouse, which enables electronic claims submission and tracking.


Within this article, we’ll walk you through the key steps involved in submitting a claim through Doulado, from getting credentialed and setup with your payers, understanding a CMS 1500 form, to tracking claim progress. By understanding the process and flow of a claim in Doulado, you can ensure accuracy, avoid delays, and maximize your reimbursement. In the video below, there is a brief demonstration of starting a claim in Doulado as well as how to track statuses, notices and keep track of your payments!

How Claims Move Through Doulado

Doulado submits claims electronically through a clearinghouse, a third-party service that acts as a bridge between providers and insurance payers. The clearinghouse:

  • Checks claims for required fields and formatting
  • Flags basic errors
  • Submits clean claims to the appropriate payer

Once the clearinghouse accepts a claim, it is forwarded to the insurance company for processing. Unless you are enrolled in ERAs, updates and payment information will come directly from the payer via mail or their provider portal.

Getting Started With Claims

To turn on claims processing:

  1. Navigate to the Billing section of your Doulado account
  2. Confirm you have an active Premium or Impact plan
  3. Review and sign the BAA and Claims & Eligibility Agreement
  4. Import Payers (you can add/edit these later as well)
  5. Review this training article

Once enabled, you’ll have access to your Claims Dashboard, where you can:

  • Add insurance payers
  • Start payer enrollment (if required)
  • Customize covered services
  • Add funds to your balance
  • Track claim statuses, payments, and balances

To submit a claim, you must have:

  • The payer added to your dashboard
  • At least $1 per claim in your funds balance

Additional funds may be needed for ERAs or eligibility checks. Any team member can add funds, as long as a payment method is saved on the account.

Payer Enrollment (If Required)

Some payers require enrollment paperwork before accepting claims submitted through Doulado. Claims enrollment is less common, but it is typically required to receive ERA or run eligibility checks.  This claims enrollment process is automatically triggered when you submit your first claim to that payer. If enrollment is required:

  • Doulado support will reach out with instructions and paperwork
  • Enrollment may also be initiated manually from the Claims Dashboard

Not all payers require this step.

Before submitting claims, we recommend:

  1. Register for your NPI number
  2. Research Medicaid payers in your area, or private insurance companies your clients may have to learn more about their doula coverage
  3. Start the credentialing process with a payer (We recommend getting established with 1 payer first to go through the whole process, rather than multiple at once.)
  4. Completing any required contracts
  5. Register for the payer's provider portal in order to easily find additional information and view EOBs (if the provider has a portal)
  6. Review the payer's claim requirements, including their CPT codes, modifiers or other specific information they require
  7. Submit your first claim!

Reach out to support@doulado.co with any further questions!