Kelli Sugihara

Kelli was introduced to midwifery when in junior high school when her mother started practicing midwifery—and her bedroom was the birth room. This was when midwifery was not regulated in Washington state, so they had the opportunity of “entertaining” the local police on their front porch a time or two as well. But her attorney father always managed to keep mom out of jail. She moved to Japan in 1984, married Masaki in 1987 and had three children, all born with midwives. She ran an English language school out of her home and interpreted for the Hiroshima Midwives Association, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, YMCA, Caterpillar-Mitsubishi and various doctors who came to give seminars in the Hiroshima area. Kelli and the children moved to Washington in 1997 with Masaki following in 1998.

By that time, midwifery in Washington had not only become legal, but a recent law required insurance companies to contract with and pay midwives. Kelli’s mother asked her to help with “this insurance stuff” and a billing service was born. Kelli is now the Director of Midwife Billing & Business, LLC, a service catering to private practice midwives throughout the country. Those working with her are also midwife advocates within the insurance industry, educating, negotiating for greater reimbursement and insisting upon legal compliance. Kelli has taught billing seminars at several state midwifery conferences and considers meeting other midwives one of the perks of her job.

During any spare time she has, Kelli enjoys food gardening, yoga, the outdoors and quilting.