Menopause makes it on the policy map
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More than 20 bills focused on menopause care have been introduced across at least 13 states so far this year.
Why it matters: Menopause education isn't just having a moment. Changes that could permanently reshape insurance coverage and health care resources are being set in motion.
- Proposed legislation aims to improve affordability of menopause treatments, bolster workplace support and increase medical training.
Catch up quick: Menopausal symptoms can be so severe and varied that some women, including Oprah, feel like they're dying. Because most doctors receive little menopause education (even if they're OB-GYNs), symptoms are often dismissed or misdiagnosed.
- Even if patients connect with a menopause-certified provider, care and treatments might not be covered by insurance.
Halle Berry is among several celebrities trying to change the narrative.
- The actress recently appeared virtually before the Maine legislature to support a bill advancing perimenopause and menopause education, and attended a Michigan roundtable with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
State of play: One in four states has proposed menopause laws, note Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, a gender and politics advocate and executive director of the Birnbaum Women's Leadership Center at NYU Law, and Mary Claire Haver, a menopause-certified OB-GYN and bestselling author.
- Michigan, Illinois, West Virginia and Pennsylvania are states to watch, Weiss-Wolf says.
Between the lines: "The trajectory mirrors that of menstrual legislation where states also have led the way championing reforms [like eliminating the 'tampon tax' and mandating the provision of free period products]," Weiss-Wolf tells Axios. "Menstruation and menopause are issues that can transcend politics and polarization."
The bottom line: Menopause is being recognized as a policy and health care priority — with states joining the charge.
