Women's health was a major topic at the HLTH conference in Las Vegas on Monday.
During the panel discussion, moderator Jodi Neuhauser, founder and CEO of 51&, detailed how the women's health care system is broken. For example, there is only one menopause service provider for every 3,000 women. Less than half of U.S. counties have an obstetrics and gynecology department. Women's health care is also reimbursed less than men's health care.
Neuhauser posed this question to the panel: Who is not working hard for women's health today?
One panelist mentioned employers arguing that they should expand women's health benefits, such as midwifery care.
“We've seen this with fertility, with in vitro fertilization. We've seen these benefits expand,” said Elaine Welteroth, founder of birthFUND, which advocates for and invests in midwifery care. “We want to make sure that employers see themselves as part of the solution, especially with so many people losing their health care … the safety nets that we have are falling by the wayside. I think it's never been more urgent than now to beg employers to see themselves as having the ability to step up and close those gaps.”
Cindy Eckert, CEO and founder of Sprout Pharmaceuticals, agreed, noting that employers need to require insurance companies to cover drugs approved by the FDA for use in female patients. Sprout Pharmaceuticals is focused on breakthroughs in women's sexual health.
“As a country, what's happening is ridiculous [erectile dysfunction] Medications are covered, but other expenses are not,” she said. “Vasectomies are covered, but abortions are not. This situation cannot continue. Employers have tremendous power in this conversation. “
Eckert added that the media needed to be more “thoughtful” in its coverage of women's health issues. When it comes to men's supplements, the media often focuses on the benefits but downplays the risks. She claimed that when it comes to women's health products, the media will take the lead in describing the risks. By doing this, “we're manipulating the conversation and manipulating the data,” she said.
Another panelist believed more men should stand up and advocate for women's health.
“We need more men to really look at this from an empathetic perspective and have compassion for other people in my life or my employees or whatever. … Especially because we do live in a society where men are typically in leadership roles in all these different areas,” said Dr. Jessica Shepherd, chief medical officer at Hers, a direct-to-consumer women's health and personal care company.
Shelley Zalis, CEO and founder of The Female Quotient, agrees, noting that there is such a thing as “male menopause.” Men begin to lose testosterone at age 30. Businesswomen is a global community of business women.
Photo: HLTH Inc.
