---
type: "Bill"
title: "An act relating to certification of community-based perinatal doulas and Medicaid coverage for doula services"
description: "An act relating to certification of community-based perinatal doulas and Medicaid coverage for doula services"
jurisdiction: "us/states/vt"
legislature: "Vermont General Assembly"
session: "2025-2026"
identifier: "S 53"
citation: "Vermont S 53 (2025-2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Martine Gulick"]
version_count: 9
action_count: 62
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2025-02-06"
last_action: "2025-06-13"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/4a71eb63-7103-472d-bb75-3ecf68d14d34"
source_url: "http://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/loadBillDetailedStatus/2026/746"
source_hash: "8f8db124b5f4d35b64c42b938145c43d655fdb423c9eb613d544e3111c60c943"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-vt"]
---

# Vermont S 53 (2025-2026) — An act relating to certification of community-based perinatal doulas and Medicaid coverage for doula services

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **As Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0053/S-0053%20As%20Introduced.pdf)
2. **Act Summary** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT050/ACT050%20Act%20Summary.pdf)
3. **As Enacted** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT050/ACT050%20As%20Enacted.pdf)
4. **As Passed By the Senate (Official)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0053/S-0053%20As%20passed%20by%20the%20Senate%20Official.pdf)
5. **As Passed By the Senate (Unofficial)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0053/S-0053%20As%20Passed%20by%20the%20Senate%20Unofficial.pdf)
6. **As Passed by Both House and Senate (Official)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0053/S-0053%20As%20Passed%20by%20Both%20House%20and%20Senate%20Official.pdf)
7. **As Passed by Both House and Senate (Unofficial)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0053/S-0053%20As%20Passed%20by%20Both%20House%20and%20Senate%20Unofficial.pdf)
8. **House Proposal of Amendment (Official)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0053/S-0053%20House%20proposal%20of%20amendment%20Official.pdf)
9. **House Proposal of Amendment (Unofficial)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0053/S-0053%20House%20Proposal%20of%20Amendment%20Unofficial.pdf)

## Sponsors

- Martine Gulick — primary (person)
- Alison Clarkson — cosponsor (person)
- Anne Watson — cosponsor (person)
- Rebecca White — cosponsor (person)
- Ruth Hardy — cosponsor (person)
- Tanya Vyhovsky — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-02-06** Read 1st time & referred to Committee on Government Operations `introduction`
- **2025-02-25** Entered on Notice Calendar
- **2025-02-25** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-02-25** Favorable report by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-25** Committed to Committee on Health and Welfare with report of Committee on Government Operations intact, under suspension of Senate Rule 49, on motion of Senator Collamore
- **2025-03-18** Entered on Notice Calendar
- **2025-03-18** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-18** Favorable report by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-18** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Health and Welfare `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-18** Referred to Committee on Finance per Senate Rule 31
- **2025-03-19** Entered on Notice Calendar
- **2025-03-19** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-19** Favorable report by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-19** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Health and Welfare `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-19** Favorable report by Committee on Finance `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-19** Referred to Committee on Appropriations per Senate Rule 31
- **2025-03-20** Entered on Notice Calendar
- **2025-03-20** Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-20** Favorable report by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-20** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Health and Welfare `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-20** Favorable report by Committee on Finance `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-20** Favorable report by Committee on Appropriations `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-21** New Business/Second Reading `reading-2`
- **2025-03-21** Favorable report by Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-21** Favorable report with recommendation of amendment by Committee on Health and Welfare `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-21** Favorable report by Committee on Finance `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-21** Favorable report by Committee on Appropriations `committee-passage`
- **2025-03-21** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2025-03-21** Reported favorably by Senator Collamore for Committee on Government Operations `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-03-21** Reported favorably by Senator Gulick for Committee on Health and Welfare with recommendation of amendment `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-03-21** Reported favorably by Senator Gulick for Committee on Finance `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-03-21** Reported favorably by Senator Perchlik for Committee on Appropriations `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-03-21** Recommendation of amendment disagreed to
- **2025-03-21** 3rd reading ordered
- **2025-03-25** New Business/Third Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-03-25** Read 3rd time & passed `reading-3`
- **2025-03-27** Read first time and referred to the Committee on Health Care `introduction`
- **2025-05-09** Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment
- **2025-05-09** Referred to Committee on Ways and Means per Rule 35(a)
- **2025-05-14** Pending entry on Notice Calendar, referred to Committee on Appropriations per Rule 35(a)
- **2025-05-15** Notice Calendar: Favorable with Amendment
- **2025-05-16** Action Calendar: Favorable with Amendment
- **2025-05-16** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2025-05-16** Rep. Cordes of Bristol reported for the Committee on Health Care
- **2025-05-16** Rep. Branagan of Georgia recommended for the Committee on Ways and Means
- **2025-05-16** Rep. Mrowicki of Putney recommended for the Committee on Appropriations
- **2025-05-16** Report of Committee on Health Care agreed to
- **2025-05-16** Third Reading ordered `reading-3`
- **2025-05-19** Action Calendar: Third Reading `reading-3`
- **2025-05-20** Action Calendar: Unfinished Business
- **2025-05-20** Read third time and passed in concurrence with proposal of amendment `amendment-introduction, reading-3`
- **2025-05-22** House message: House passed bill in concurrence with proposal(s) of amendment
- **2025-05-22** Entered on Notice Calendar
- **2025-05-22** House proposal of amendment `amendment-introduction`
- **2025-05-22** Rules suspended & taken up for immediate consideration, on motion of Senator Baruth
- **2025-05-22** House proposal of amendment; text `amendment-introduction`
- **2025-05-22** House proposal of amendment concurred in `amendment-introduction`
- **2025-05-22** As passed by Senate and House `passage`
- **2025-05-23** Senate Message: House proposal of amendment concurred in `amendment-introduction`
- **2025-06-03** Delivered to Governor on June 3, 2025 `executive-receipt`
- **2025-06-11** Signed by Governor on June 9, 2025 `executive-signature`
- **2025-06-13** Senate Message: Signed by Governor June 9, 2025 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/4a71eb63-7103-472d-bb75-3ecf68d14d34`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Vermont legislature records).