Closing the Women’s Health Gap Through Policy

Women’s health policy is having a breakthrough moment. Liz Powell, founder of Women’s Health Advocates (WHA), has built a coalition linking doctors, patients, and policymakers to close the gaps that have long undermined women’s health. With members in every state and several countries, WHA connects what happens in exam rooms to what gets debated in Congress.

From maternal mortality to endometriosis to drug dosing, women’s health has been underresearched and underfunded for decades. Powell and her team are changing that by pairing data with lived experience and pushing for policies that reflect women’s realities across their lifespans.

Innovators like Maven, Midi Health, Tia, Wisp, and Winx Health are reimagining care—from fertility to menopause to at-home treatment. But when policy lags—through outdated billing codes or narrow clinical standards—innovation can’t scale. WHA bridges that gap, aligning public policy with private innovation to make progress systemic, not selective.

From Women’s Health Policy Gaps To A National Coalition

Powell didn’t set out to start a movement. “I have been working in policy and advocacy for about 25 years,” she shared. “Over that time, I had sporadic examples of gaps in women’s health, but it didn’t occur to me that there were systemic problems until around 2019.”

Once she saw the patterns, she acted. WHA became the first lobbying organization devoted to the full continuum of women’s health—beyond reproductive care, across the entire lifespan. “We have folks everywhere with stories,” stressed Powell. “We need to communicate those stories to Congress to educate them and advocate for change.”

That connection between the personal and the political runs deep for WHA’s members. Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD, known as Dr. Bayo, is the Medical Director of Urgent Care at Saint Mary’s Health Network in Reno, Nevada, and knows firsthand how dangerous systemic gaps can be. “I almost died giving birth in the hospital system where I’m a medical director,” she emphasized. “Each time someone hears that story, they can understand that this issue goes beyond access.”

Her story reflects a broader crisis. Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. Curry-Winchell has turned that experience into action by creating Clinicians Who Care, a free, crowdsourced directory connecting patients with doctors who truly listen, believe their concerns, and prioritize compassionate, evidence-based care..

The Economics of Gender Bias in Healthcare Policy

While advocacy often starts with personal stories, WHA backs its arguments with data. Jocelyn J. Fitzgerald, MD, a urogynecologist, pelvic reconstructive surgeon, and assistant professor of obstetrics at the University of Pittsburgh, has mapped how gender bias in healthcare is built into the medical billing system itself.

“We published 100 codes—50 female codes, 50 equivalent male codes—and found that the male codes reimburse the hospital system on average 30 to 40% and up to 150% or more,” she explained. “A woman with a urinary issue is worth significantly less to a hospital system than a man with a urinary issue.” “We’re talking 400 codes discriminating based on the sex of the patient,” emphasized Powell.

This economic bias has ripple effects. When procedures that primarily serve women generate less revenue, hospitals have less incentive to hire OB-GYNs or invest in specialized services. “It doesn’t matter if we have all the rights in the world,” stressed Fitzgerald. “If hospitals literally won’t hire an OB-GYN because they can’t make money for the hospital, that’s the most urgent issue.”

Gaps in conditions in women’s health research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are all too many. For example, fibroids affect up to 80% of women but receive only $17 million in annual NIH funding, while cardiovascular disease—the leading killer of women—remains underresearched in female patients.

Fitzgerald called the problem both ethical and practical. “Our patients are not worth enough money to the healthcare system to make them as important as other patients,” she sighed.

Momentum In Women’s Health Research And Policy

Powell describes the current landscape as both daunting and hopeful. “It’s the worst of times in that we’ve seen major changes to how federal diversity and inclusion programs are supported,” she said. “But it’s also the best of times, because more people than ever are demanding investment in women’s health.”

Health and Human Services restored funding for the Women’s Health Initiative, a pioneering research program on women’s aging and chronic disease. The reversal preserves decades of data that scientists say are crucial to closing persistent gaps in women’s health research.

Venture capital investment in women’s health has grown more than 200% in recent years—but still accounts for less than 5% of healthcare VC funding. Dr. Fitzgerald noted that “only about 5% of the NIH budget went to women’s health last year,” but she sees the field shifting. “Women have never had more influence or capital,” she said. “We’re seeing big investments from Melinda French Gates and others.”

Curry-Winchell put the issue in perspective. “Women’s health hasn’t been studied as long as Netflix has existed,” she said. “Once people connect those dots, they see how far we have to go.”

Turning Women’s Health Data Into Policy

WHA’s model is pragmatic and broad based. “This is the first lobbying organization on women’s health ever,” said Powell. “We are addressing all of women’s health, not just research or a single condition.”

Its first significant milestone was the inaugural Women’s Health Capitol Hill Day on May 21, 2025—a bipartisan briefing that drew standing-room-only attendance and direct engagement from members of Congress. The event helped advance new legislative language to expand representation in clinical trials and increase funding for the Office of Research on Women’s Health.

Powell attributes that success to collaboration across professions and political lines. “When we educate members of Congress, most of them just haven’t been exposed to the data,” she said. “Once they understand how women’s health impacts families and the economy, they want to help.”

For Powell, the message is simple: evidence leads to empathy, and empathy leads to change. “We need to communicate stories and expertise to shape the legislative process,” she said. “When we do, we see progress.”

Closing The Women’s Health Gap Through Policy

The stakes are high, but so is the opportunity. McKinsey estimates closing the women’s health gap could add $1 trillion annually to the global economy by 2040. Yet fewer than 5% of biomedical research dollars go to female-specific conditions.

Powell, Curry-Winchell, and Fitzgerald are proving that it takes evidence, storytelling, and advocacy to change that. They’re building a bridge between women’s health policy and practice—and creating a model for how advocacy can work when data meets lived experience. In Powell’s words: “Women’s health is everyone’s health. When we get it right for women, we get it right for the nation.”