Resources for recourse

The Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) and Office of Direct-Entry Midwifery Care regulates direct entry midwives in Colorado. You are encouraged to file the complaint with your name attached so DORA can follow up, but anonymous complaints are permitted.

From their website: "If we don't have enough information, the board or program may have to drop the complaint since we can't contact you for further information."

Be sure to have all documentation ready when you file. You will need to complete the submission in one sitting. The questions/prompts include:

• Are you filing the complaint anonymously?

• Are you filing the complaint on someone else's behalf?

• The date(s) of the incident(s). If the incident occurred multiple times, you will need to separate them by commas.

• A description of the event(s) that occurred to you. Make sure to be as detailed as possible and include locations where appropriate.

• For witness information, including professionals, family members, or other clients.

This is the professional organization for Certified Professional Midwives and credentials CPMs. Anonymous complaints are not permitted and the client must be willing to participate in this disciplinary process. You are also required to articulate why you believe the care you received was "incompetent" as part of your complaint. Filing a complaint directly with NARM effectively silences you, as you agree to the following:

"All parties must refrain from discussion or disclosure about the complaint during the process and will not disclose information obtained from the Complaint Review or Grievance. No information about the Complaint or the existence of a Complaint may be shared on social media, with news outlets, or discussed with any other nonparticipants."

Insurance fraud includes billing insurance for services that have not been rendered, such as a vaginal birth and postnatal visits. If you have reviewed your Explanation of Benefits (EOB) in your health insurance portal and notice charges for a vaginal birth, postpartum care, or newborn care that was not performed, you will want to file a fraud complaint with your insurance provider and then file the fraud complaint with the Secretary of State. They ask for a concise and sequential narrative, providing dates and full names.

While privacy of medical information is often where the mind goes when it hears HIPAA, the legislation also regulates access to billing records and medical records. The HIPAA Privacy Rule permits 30 calendar days for an entity to comply with a written request.