How Citizen Advocacy Is Driving Real Change in Menopause Policy — State by State

Yahoo

31-03-2025

In early February, we wrote for KCM (here and here) that despite all the acrimony in D.C., menopause is among the few policy issues that transcends political lines. To help advance this agenda, we teamed up to publish A Citizen's Guide to Menopause Advocacy, a free digital booklet to mobilize everyday people.
The good news? It's working!
Yes, there remains an avalanche of uncertainty about the future of federally funded research andnational policy, especially around women's health. But, as covered in the Citizen's Guide, state governments offer an important alternate route. Momentum is growing — and fast.
For quick perspective, three states passed menopause laws over the last two years. As of 2024,California's various medical boards — including for doctors, nurses, and physicians' assistants —now can include coursework in menopausal health for continuing professional education requirements. Illinois (in 2023) and Louisiana (in 2024) mandated insurance coverage for someor all menopause treatments. (A bill to require insurance coverage for menopause treatment alsopassed in California last year, only for Governor Newsom to veto it.)
That one-in-four states have proposed menopause laws shows that citizen advocacy works — andlawmakers are listening. Menopause has gone from 'Having a Moment' in 2023, to 'Fueling aMovement' in 2024, to being named on the 'Ones To Watch: Legislation Landscape for 2025'list in 2025. That's progress.
Below is a state-by-state summary of menopause legislation introduced thus far this year. Checkout the non-profit Let's Talk Menopause (on whose board Jen serves) for additional informationand interactive features that make it easy to track progress and speak up and out.
Arizona:
HB 2734 would enable health care providers with tools to educate women on the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause and create informational materials.
California:
AB 432, the Menopause Care Equity Act would mandate comprehensive insurance coverage for menopause treatment; direct the state Medical Board to develop a menopause-specific Continuing Medical Education (CME) curriculum; and require physicians to complete menopause-specific CME if more than 25 percent of their patient population consists of women.
AB 360 would require the state Medical Board to develop and administer menopause training surveys as part of the license renewal process.
Connecticut:
AB 6593 would require the state Department of Public Health to develop and distribute menopause guidelines and educational resources to health care providers, as well as conduct a public awareness campaign to educate residents; it would also mandate health care providers complete at least one CME credit regarding menopause.
Illinois:
SJR0025 would create Menopause Awareness Week on October 12-18, 2025 'to drive legislative action on workforce protections, healthcare equity, and research funding.'
As noted in the Citizen's Guide, HB5295 will expand prior bill mandating treatment coverage for post-hysterectomy patients to include all menopause treatments as of Jan. 1, 2026.
Maine:
LD 1079 would direct the state Department of Health and Human Services to create informational materials on perimenopause and menopause.
Massachusetts:
H 2499 would mandate the state Department of Public Health improve patient and clinician awareness of the menopause transition and assess and improve menopause CME; it would also assess the impact of menopause on the workforce and policies offered by employers (including health insurance coverage of menopause treatments).
Nevada:
SB 297 would designate the month of September as Perimenopause Awareness Month and October as Menopause Awareness Month.
New Jersey:
AB 5278 would mandate comprehensive insurance coverage for perimenopause and menopause care and treatment.
AB 5309/S4147 would permit one to three credits of CME on menopause to be used by physicians for license renewal.
SB 4197/AB 3334 would require employers to allow employees suffering from a range of menstrual disorders (including as a result of perimenopause) to work remotely unless it would create an undue burden for employers.
New York:
AB 5444 would mandate comprehensive insurance coverage for perimenopause and menopause care and treatment.
AB 5436 would help prevent discrimination and increase awareness about menopause and perimenopause.
A01940/SB3908 would amend the workers' compensation law to provide four days of paid leave for menstrual complications, including perimenopause and menopause.
S1720 would establish an awareness campaign on menopause hormone treatment.
Oregon:
HB 3064 would mandate treatment coverage by health plans within the state's reach, such as those insuring many public school employees and state employees.
Pennsylvania:
A Senate memo has been filed to introduce 2025 legislation that would require the state Department of Health and healthcare providers to provide information about menopause and perimenopause; the bill itself is not yet live.
Rhode Island:
S 0361 would extend workplace protections to those experiencing menopause.
Texas:
HB 3961 would require the Department of State Health Services to develop and distribute a menopause educational program, and to post informational materials on the department website.
For all of us committed to women's health, this wave of legislative visibility should fuel our hope that it's worth our effort to fight for bipartisan and meaningful progress.
We stand by what we wrote for KCM just two (albeit long) months ago:
There is a runway for progress if we're committed to fighting for it. And here's why we should: Menopausal women, like our younger counterparts, must be able to make informed choices about our health. We deserve access to affordable, competent medical care and treatment from trained professionals. We have every right and reason to demand lawmakers and leaders invest in solutions that ensure our well-being, our dignity, our humanity. We owe it to ourselves — and to generations to come – to not back away from this cause, but double down in the pursuit.
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf is the executive director of the Birnbaum Women's Leadership Center at NYU Law. Dr. Mary Claire Haver is a board-certified OB/GYN and certified menopause practitioner. They're co-authors of A Citizen's Guide to Menopause Advocacy.
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