Innovation And Policy Power Women’s Health Reform

Women live longer than men but spend more years in poor health and pay more for their care. This costs the economy trillions. These inequities are not biological destiny—they are policy failures that can be corrected through innovation, investment, and reform. That was the central message of the NYC Women’s Health Policy Forum on October 30, 2025, where leaders from science, government, and advocacy described how public and private forces can work together to make women’s health equity a national priority.

“When women are healthy, everybody wins, including the economy,” said Beth Garner, MD, CEO of Sena Therapeutics and moderator of the event. “This is not a niche issue. It’s an economic one.” Innovations in women’s health don’t just improve patient care—they can reshape who gets treatment, what it costs, and where the money goes.

The Case for Women’s Health Innovation

The numbers tell a stark story. U.S. women live an average of 81.1 years compared with 75.8 for men, according to the CDC, but spend roughly 25% more of their lifespan in poor health, according to McKinsey. Research by Jocelyn J. Fitzgerald, MD, compared 50 female-specific medical codes with 50 equivalent male codes. She found that male codes reimburse hospital systems an average of 30% to 40%—and in some cases, up to 150% more. Meanwhile, only 8–13% of National Institutes of Health grants fund research specific to women, and, while growing by more than 200% between 2019 and 2024, just 4.5% of health venture capital targets women’s health conditions.

“Women’s health isn’t just about our reproductive organs. It’s lifelong—from puberty to menopause and beyond,” said journalist and menopause advocate Tamsen Fadal. “We need to stop treating women’s health as a stage of life and start seeing it as the throughline.”

Dr. Garner agreed. “Women’s health has always been treated as a niche. It’s not. It’s a trillion-dollar opportunity.” McKinsey found that closing the women’s health gap could add up to $1 trillion to the global economy each year.

Beyond the data lies a moral imperative. Women represent more than half of the population, yet face systematic neglect in research, reimbursement, and workplace accommodation. “When we invest in women’s health, we invest in families, productivity, and growth,” said Garner.

Policy Reforms to Advance Health Equity

Federal Signals And Market Incentives

Government policy can accelerate or stall innovation. Seema Kumar, CEO of Cure, explained how federal agencies shape the flow of both research funding and private capital. “When NIH or CMS prioritizes an area, it sends a signal to the market. That’s how innovation moves from lab to patient,” she said.

Kumar pointed to ARPA-H’s Sprint for Women’s Health as a promising model for public investment. The program earmarks $100 million for technologies that address women’s health conditions historically overlooked by funders.

But funding is only part of the equation. Reimbursement policies at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) remain a significant barrier. “On average, female-specific surgeries receive 30% less reimbursement than comparable male procedures,” said Liz Powell, founder of Women’s Health Advocates. “That means hospitals make less money caring for women.” The result: fewer providers, longer wait times, and persistent inequities in access to care.

State Action In New York

While Washington debates, states like New York are moving ahead. Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal has put forward four bills aimed at tackling menopause coverage and stigma. They’d require employers to offer reasonable workplace accommodations, mandate that private insurers cover menopause care, create a Department of Health pamphlet to combat misinformation, and establish continuing education for doctors and clinicians.

“There were no laws on menopause. I’m changing that,” Rosenthal said. “People don’t want to talk about it—it’s stigmatized—but it affects half the population.”

Her earlier legislation eliminated the sales tax on menstrual products and required ingredient labeling—proof that state-level reform can spur national change. “New York led on period equity,” Rosenthal said. “Now we’re leading on menopause.” Companies like Aunt Flow, which makes it easy for public bathrooms to distribute free menstrual products, have benefited from period equity state legislation.

Bipartisan And Grassroots Advocacy

Policy change also depends on sustained

pressure. “Even in this environment, quiet negotiations are happening,” said Powell. “We’ve seen appropriations language on women’s health included in funding bills because advocates kept showing up.”

Phylicia Woods, director of Government Relations at Hologic and former counsel to Senator Claire McCaskill, agreed that persistence matters. “Policy and innovation have to come together. You can’t have access to care without reimbursement for new technologies,” she said.

Grassroots organizing is part of the strategy. “Within one month of launching our online advocacy tool, we generated a thousand letters to Congress,” Powell said. “That’s how you move the needle.”

Addressing rural gaps

Forum participants also underscored the urgent need to close the gaps in rural women’s health. More than 35% of U.S. counties are considered maternity care deserts, according to the March of Dimes. Women in rural areas often travel hours for basic obstetric or gynecologic care. Limited broadband coverage restricts telehealth options, and hospital closures have made entire regions dependent on understaffed clinics.

“Rural women are on the front lines of these inequities,” said Woods. “Without broadband, Medicaid expansion, and fair reimbursement, they’re invisible to the system.” Expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage, increasing reimbursement for rural providers, and investing in telemedicine infrastructure were all cited as critical policy goals.

Founders And Startups Driving Change

Innovation is happening in parallel with policy. Fadal’s Rosie platform provides cognitive behavioral tools, education, and community support for women navigating fertility, sexual health, and menopause. “We served 250,000 women, ages 18 to 94. That shows women’s health spans life,” she said.

At Sena Therapeutics, Dr. Garner’s company is developing the first therapeutic for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition affecting one in 10 women of reproductive age. “There are no approved treatments for PCOS,” she said. “That’s what motivates us to keep pushing.”

At Cure’s Innovation Campus in New York, Kumar incubates early-stage women’s health companies. “Innovation and reimbursement must move together,” she said. “Without coverage, new technologies die in the valley of death.”

Other founders are following similar paths. Maven Clinic offers employer-sponsored virtual care for women and families. Midi Health provides insurance-covered menopause care. Uresta sells a non-surgical device for stress urinary incontinence. Each represents a new generation of women-led startups tackling conditions that have long been dismissed as “niche.”

“Public funding is critical because it’s non-dilutive,” Kumar noted. “But we’re seeing private capital step up.” Family offices, foundations, and women-led venture funds are creating blended financing models that pair non-dilutive grants with early-stage investment. “That’s what it will take to de-risk women’s health innovation,” she said.

Building A Movement For Women’s Health Equity

“This isn’t a moment—it’s a movement,” said Powell. “We’re finally seeing science, policy, and advocacy converge.”

The forum ended with a call to action: Align incentives across the system so that women’s health innovation can thrive. Policymakers can streamline reimbursement and research funding. Entrepreneurs can design solutions that reach beyond urban centers. Investors can view women’s health not as philanthropy but as smart economics.

“Healthy women drive healthy economies,” said Garner. “When women have access to quality care, communities prosper.”

The push for women’s health equity is being powered by data, innovation, and people telling their stories. Fadal summed up its purpose best: “We’re normalizing the conversation. We’re saying out loud what’s been whispered for too long.”

From the Upper West Side to rural Montana, women are demanding care that reflects their biology, respects their experience, and rewards their contribution to society. The future of women’s health innovation will depend on whether policymakers, entrepreneurs, and investors can meet that demand—with urgency, empathy, and evidence.