Swishvo, 2778 Broad Street, Austell, GA (2026)

11/06/2026

We will all reach the end of life. Who will be there whose job is simply to stay?

This week is Hospice and Palliative Care Week, part of National Care at Home Month.

End-of-life doulas, sometimes called death doulas, walk with people and families near the end of life. They help plan a vigil, write a legacy letter, keep watch through the night so a family can rest, and stay with the grief that follows.

They work beside hospice teams, not instead of them. Nurses, aides, social workers and chaplains bring medical and spiritual care. Doulas bring time, presence and continuity.

For most families, end-of-life doula care is still paid out of pocket. Which means the extra time and presence a doula brings is too often something a family has to buy.

Swishvo serves end-of-life doulas today, and we are working toward the day this care is covered.

One more note: Medicare open enrollment runs through Dec 7. If you support older adults, remind them to review their plans.

11/05/2026

The families in your community already trust you with their care. Let’s get you set up to be paid for it.

This week, Healer Hours looks a little different. Tell Marisa the one step holding up your Swishvo setup. A few words is plenty: “NPI,” “malpractice step,” or “not sure where I am.” She’ll open your profile before Thursday, so when you join, we start with your exact next step, not a general demo.

Not one for messaging ahead? Just come. Bring your login and we’ll finish while you’re there.

Every Thursday, 1 PM EST. healerhours.swishvo.com

11/03/2026

Meet Danielle Dixon, Swishvo’s Provider Adoption Coordinator. 🤎✨

Danielle understands the maternal health space from more than one perspective.

She’s a public health professional, full-spectrum doula, birth and family photographer, traditional birth attendant, and new mom with more than seven years of experience supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

Her background spans Public Health, Wellness and Nutrition, patient navigation, and community health giving her an understanding of healthcare from both the provider and client sides.

Now, as Danielle embraces a new season of motherhood and steps back from the day-to-day work of being a doula, she’s found another way to remain rooted in the maternal health work she loves.

At Swishvo, Danielle brings lived experience, warmth, curiosity, and problem-solving to helping providers navigate the platform and get the support they need to thrive.

There’s something special about having the people we’re building for represented among the people helping us build. 🤎

We’re so glad Danielle is one of them.

11/02/2026

November is a month about care that happens close to home.

Health care is full of people doing essential work that the financial system treats like a favor.

It is Prematurity Awareness Month, for the babies who arrive early and the families who sit beside NICU beds. It is National Care at Home Month, for hospice, palliative and home care teams. It is Native American Heritage Month, honoring Indigenous healers and birthkeepers. It is National Family Caregivers Month, for the people caring for loved ones, often without pay.

What would it take for this work to be treated as care, and not charity?

Many providers on Swishvo do their work in living rooms, kitchens, hospital rooms and community spaces. This month we will share their stories, and what is changing in how their care gets paid.

One more date to know: open enrollment for HealthCare.gov plans runs Nov 1 to Jan 15. Sign up by Dec 15 for coverage that starts Jan 1. Some states run their own marketplace with different dates. If you serve families who buy their own insurance, tell them now.

11/02/2026

November is a month about care that happens close to home.

Health care is full of people doing essential work that the financial system treats like a favor.

It is Prematurity Awareness Month, for the babies who arrive early and the families who sit beside NICU beds. It is National Care at Home Month, for hospice, palliative and home care teams. It is Native American Heritage Month, honoring Indigenous healers and birthkeepers. It is National Family Caregivers Month, for the people caring for loved ones, often without pay.

What would it take for this work to be treated as care, and not charity?

Many providers on Swishvo do their work in living rooms, kitchens, hospital rooms and community spaces. This month we will share their stories, and what is changing in how their care gets paid.

One more date to know: open enrollment for HealthCare.gov plans runs Nov 1 to Jan 15. Sign up by Dec 15 for coverage that starts Jan 1. Some states run their own marketplace with different dates. If you serve families who buy their own insurance, tell them now.

11/01/2026

Tuesday, November 3 is Election Day. Here is what's on the ballot for care.

We won't tell you how to vote. We want you to know what you're voting on.

Why it matters: Medicaid pays for about 40% of U.S. births. State leaders decide what it covers, including doula and midwife care, and how much it pays. This year, 36 states elect a governor, and 88 of 99 state legislative chambers are on the ballot.

What's coming: starting January 2027, many adults in Medicaid expansion must show 80 hours a month of work, school or service. Pregnant people, people up to 12 months postpartum, and parents caring for a child under 14 do not have to meet the requirement. Your state's leaders decide how it works.

On the ballot in some states:
• Virginia Question 1: reproductive freedom in the state constitution, including prenatal, birth, postpartum and miscarriage care
• Nevada Question 6: abortion rights in the state constitution, second required vote
• Idaho Proposition 1: a state law protecting access to reproductive care
• Missouri Amendment 3: repeal of the 2024 abortion-rights amendment
• California Proposition 44: spending rules for community health clinics

Swipe for what a yes and a no vote mean, and how to get ready. Find your ballot and polling place at vote411.org.

Sources: KFF State Health Facts (2024 births); Ballotpedia; Georgetown Center for Children and Families (July 2026); Ms. Magazine (Oct 2026); ABC News; KCTV5; California Secretary of State; League of Women Voters; Bipartisan Policy Center

10/30/2026

We close Breast Cancer Awareness Month with the providers who think about breast health every working day: lactation consultants.

Why is their care still treated like an extra instead of health care?

The American Cancer Society notes that most studies suggest breastfeeding may slightly lower breast cancer risk, especially if it continues for a year or more. Lactation consultants help make that possible. They solve latch problems, manage pain and supply, support parents who pump at work, and notice when something needs a doctor's eyes.

Their work is starting to get its own codes. New CPT codes for lactation counseling are set to begin in 2027, and Medicare proposed how to value them in this year's fee schedule. In September, Swishvo urged CMS to value these services based on how lactation care is really delivered, including by telehealth.

Many lactation consultants are still paid out of pocket, or not at all. Lactation care is breast health care. It should be covered care, everywhere.

Image created with AI.

10/29/2026

Who holds the family after the cameras leave?

All month, we have talked about parents who lose a baby. Some families lose a child at any age, under circumstances they still do not understand. For a while, it feels like the whole country is watching. Then the news moves on, and the family is left with the questions, the anniversaries and the empty room.

When a death leaves questions, grief gets more complicated. Families mourn and push for answers at the same time.

Grief counselors, chaplains, peer supporters and community care workers hold families through exactly this kind of loss, long after the story fades.

That care rarely has a clear path to payment. What happens to a family when the people holding them can't afford to stay?

To every family still waiting for answers: we see you.

10/28/2026

Happy birthday, Alexandria! 🎉🤎 Alexandria Elizabeth

As our Lead Software Engineer, Alexandria builds the technology behind our mission: making holistic, spiritual, and ancestral care covered by insurance. Every line of code she writes helps doulas, midwives, and healers get the recognition their work has always deserved.

Alexandria, thank you for your brilliance, your heart, and the care you bring to this team every day. We’re so grateful to celebrate you.

Wishing you a beautiful day and a wonderful year ahead. ✨

With love, your Swishvo team

10/28/2026

Every claim answers two questions. Why was care needed? And what care was given?

Get either one wrong, and the care can go unpaid.

Diagnosis codes answer "why." These are ICD-10-CM codes, like the 44 new pregnancy codes that took effect October 1. They describe a condition or situation, such as a pregnancy, a loss or a postpartum checkup.

Service codes answer "what." These are CPT and HCPCS codes. They describe the work: a visit, a delivery, a counseling session. Some Medicaid programs, for example, pay doulas under HCPCS codes T1032 (per 15 minutes) or T1033 (per day).

A clean claim needs both, and they have to make sense together. The right service with the wrong diagnosis gets denied. So does the right diagnosis with a service the payer does not cover for that provider type.

That is where most providers get stuck. It is also what Swishvo was built for: showing what belongs on a claim, for this payer, in this state, on this date.