The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) is launching Licensed Certified Professional Midwife (LCPM) services for Illinois Medicaid customers. The new provider type will allow midwives to serve Medicaid customers by attending births that take place outside of hospitals via home and birth center settings. Professional Midwives are licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).
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“I am fully committed to making Illinois the best state to raise a family and expanding prenatal and postnatal care is just the start,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “By integrating midwives into the Medicaid program, we’re not only addressing a long-standing gap in care, we’re also advancing safe, high-quality birth options for families across the state.”
“Maternal health equity means ensuring every birthing person has access to the care, support, and respect they deserve throughout pregnancy and childbirth,” said Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton. “When we know that Black women are still far more likely to experience preventable pregnancy-related complications and deaths, we have a responsibility to expand access to care that improves outcomes. Recognizing Licensed Certified Professional Midwives as Medicaid providers is a meaningful investment in evidence-based, patient-centered care that will help more Illinois families experience safe, healthy births.”
When performed within the LCPM scope of practice and training, covered maternity services include:
- Conducting physical examinations
- Administering medications and using devices as permitted within the LCPM scope of practice and training
- Providing initial and ongoing comprehensive assessment, diagnosis and treatment during pregnancy, labor and delivery, postpartum and newborn care.
- Ordering and interpreting allowable laboratory and diagnostic testing
- Consulting and making referrals to other healthcare professionals as needed
- Educating and counseling throughout pregnancy and birth, as well as maternal and well-baby care in the postpartum period
“Expanding access to critical healthcare services for Medicaid customers is reflective of the Pritzker Administration’s commitment to improving maternal health outcomes,” said HFS Director Elizabeth M. Whitehorn. “Licensed Certified Professional Midwives will provide invaluable support to birthing persons through personalized care that meets each family’s unique needs.”
“At IDFPR, we are proud to serve midwives' licensing needs, and their importance to the healthcare of women throughout the state cannot be overstated,” said IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto, Jr. “Expanding their services to Medicaid users not only improves maternal health equity in Illinois, but it ensures pregnant individuals have the support they deserve.”
The new provider type addition to the Illinois Medicaid program is part of the Pritzker Administration’s ongoing commitment to maternal health equity and addressing existing gaps in care with a goal of promoting health equity for all Illinois residents. According to the 2025 Illinois Maternal Mortality report, Black women are more than twice as likely to die from any pregnancy related condition, with the vast majority of those deaths listed as preventable.
"Expanding midwife services for Illinois Medicaid customers is an important step forward in Illinois's efforts to achieve maternal health equity," said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. "Midwives provide a critical link in ensuring that all Illinoisans have access to essential care before, during, and after childbirth, leading to better outcomes for mother and child."
Research published through the National Library of Medicine finds that midwife-led care corresponds with measurable gains in delivery safety, neonatal health, mental wellbeing and healthcare resource utilization- particularly for low-risk pregnancies. This care is also cost-effective for families, with the benefit of being centered around the patient.
“Recognizing Licensed Certified Professional Midwives as Medicaid providers in Illinois is a transformative step toward reproductive justice and birth equity,” said Star August, Executive Director & Founder of Black Midwifery Collective. “As Black maternal health outcomes remain in crisis and communities across Illinois face growing maternity care shortages, this policy expands access to trusted, culturally responsive care and helps ensure every family has the right to safe, dignified birth options regardless of income, race, or geography.”
"Licensed Certified Professional Midwives offer unique benefits to freestanding birth centers in Illinois,” said Illinois Birth Center Task Force Co-Chairs Gayle Riedmann, CNM and Lon Berkeley. “Because the education of LCPMs focuses exclusively on community birth settings (home and birth centers), low-risk clients, and physiologic birth, they are experts in out-of-hospital safety. Integrating LCPMs into health care models is associated with lower cesarean section rates, fewer neonatal complications, and a reduction in maternal and infant health disparities."
"The State of Illinois' efforts to provide Medicaid reimbursements for LCPMs and doulas is a game changer for us," said Certified Professional Midwife and Director of the Birth Center at PCC Mary Sommers. "This program makes it possible for LCPMs and doulas to be more formally integrated into the perinatal healthcare system, which will expand access to affordable, community-based maternity care, as well as helping to address the midwifery shortage in the State."
This expansion of care is the latest in a number of efforts to support pregnant and parenting individuals who rely on Medicaid for their healthcare needs. In January 2025 Illinois was selected to participate in the federal Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) model, focusing on improved maternal health outcomes through a more whole-person approach to care. In December 2024 new coverage was announced for certified doula and lactation consultant services. And in November 2025 new coverage was announced for home visiting services in support of pregnant and parenting individuals.
HFS is also partnering with the University of Illinois Office of Medicaid Innovation to provide onboarding and support for these providers through the Medicaid Technical Assistance Center (MTAC). This support includes a Medicaid specific overview, enrollment support, live training and one-on-one support.
