Keenan Briefings

Briefing

Growing Federal Attention to Menopause and Women’s Health

In recent years, as Generation X and Millennials have entered middle age, not only has their music been getting more play in the supermarket, but their health and aging concerns have also begun to take center stage. Long a taboo topic, menopause has attracted bipartisan attention in federal health policy discussions.

Federal legislation

This summer, two bills were introduced to address menopause treatment and to help women experiencing menopause symptoms.

Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women's Health Act

In May, two women in Congress introduced the Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women's Health Act. The House bill, H.R. 9090, was introduced by Rep. Yvette Clarke, while the Senate version, S. 4503, was introduced by Senator Patty Murray. The bill would amend the Public Health Service Act to expand federal research on menopause.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would coordinate and expand research on how symptoms across perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause affect women's physical, mental and cognitive health, including differences between rural and urban women. NIH would also award research grants to teaching hospitals, health professions schools, research institutions and small businesses. The research would cover a long list of related conditions, including hot flashes and other vasomotor symptoms, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, dementia, mental health conditions, sleep disorders and pelvic floor disorders.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) would also expand public health and workplace-stress research and keep a public data dashboard. The bill authorizes $25 million a year for fiscal years 2027-2031 for this research.

The bill would also create several HHS programs:

• Grants for care: Grants for early detection, diagnosis, treatment and care coordination, authorized at $10 million a year.

• Awareness campaign: A national awareness and education campaign with a website for providers and patients, authorized at $10 million a year.

• Provider training: Training grants for physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other providers, authorized at $10 million a year.

• Centers of Excellence: Designated Centers of Excellence in Menopause and Mid-Life Women's Health, with priority for shortage areas and underserved populations.

• Reports to Congress: Annual progress reports to Congress, plus a report on disparities and barriers to care due within two years of enactment.

As written, the bill would not change group health plan coverage. It contains no coverage mandate and no requirements for plans, insurers or employers. It is limited to research, grants, education and reporting.

Menopausal Workers' Fairness Act of 2026

In July, Rep. Debbie Dingell introduced the Menopausal Workers' Fairness Act of 2026 (H.R. 9671) to provide explicit federal rights to reasonable accommodations in the workplace for employees experiencing menopause symptoms.

Modeled on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the bill would require employers with 15 or more employees, plus congressional, executive branch, state and federal employers, to provide reasonable accommodations for workers with known limitations related to menopause or the menopause transition. The only exception is when an accommodation would impose an undue hardship.

Under the legislation, a "known limitation" is any physical or mental effect the employee has communicated to the employer, whether or not it meets the ADA definition of disability. Examples include hot flashes, sleep disruption, cognitive issues, anxiety, depression and urinary incontinence.

The bill defines menopause broadly to include menopause caused by surgery or medical treatment and primary ovarian insufficiency (menopause before age 40). It also directs that these terms be read in favor of expansive coverage.

Like the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the bill lists certain accommodations that should be granted almost automatically and without documentation, such as keeping water nearby; providing extra restroom breaks; allowing sitting or standing as needed; or providing breaks to eat and drink.

Covered employers would also be prohibited from doing any of the following:

• Requiring an employee to accept an accommodation other than a reasonable accommodation.

• Denying job opportunities because of the need to accommodate.

• Forcing an employee onto paid or unpaid leave if another accommodation would work.

• Taking adverse action against an employee for requesting or using an accommodation.

Medical information would have to be kept confidential, in separate files, with only limited exceptions. Enforcement would use the Title VII powers, remedies and procedures, including compensatory and punitive damages subject to the existing caps and attorney's fees.

The bill also bars retaliation and coercion. Employers could avoid damages if they show good faith efforts, in consultation with the employee, to find a reasonable accommodation.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) would be required to issue regulations within one year of enactment, including examples of limitations and accommodations and guidance on when employers may ask for supporting documentation. The bill also waives state sovereign immunity and appropriates $4.5 million to carry it out.

For employers, the Menopausal Workers' Fairness Act has greater potential to impact workplace policies and rights. It does not mandate health plan coverage, but it would create new federal accommodation and leave-management duties for employers.

Congressional hearings & investigations

In addition to legislative proposals, Congress has also started to discuss menopause in a first-ever congressional hearing dedicated to the menopause care gap, led by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Rick Scott.

Lawmakers highlighted that 80% of OB/GYN residents feel unprepared to treat menopause and announced a bipartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into federal menopause activities and clinical gaps.

Two days later, on September 18, 2026, advocates and the National Menopause Foundation held the first-ever Perimenopause & Menopause Capitol Hill Day to press for federal policy attention.

Executive action

On October 19, 2026, President Trump issued an executive order titled, "Advancing Women's Health to Improve Outcomes in All Phases of Life," directing the NIH to establish a dedicated Women's Health Division within 90 days and forming a White House task force to coordinate menopause and midlife research, prevention, and care.

The Executive Order also revoked two prior actions on women’s health undertaken by the Biden administration:

• Executive Order 14120, which directed agencies to incorporate women's health across research portfolios, targeting midlife conditions like menopause, autoimmune diseases, and women in the military, while improving data collection and clinical study inclusion. This Executive Order also supported significant investments including NIH commitments and other initiatives, alongside proposals for dedicated women's health research funds.

• The Presidential Memorandum of November 13, 2023, which established the White House Initiative on Women's Health Research to fundamentally change how the federal government approaches and funds research on women's health and address historical gaps where medical studies focused heavily on men.

Keenan is not a law firm and no opinion, suggestion, or recommendation of the firm or its employees shall constitute legal advice. Clients are advised to consult with their own attorney for a determination of their legal rights, responsibilities, and liabilities, including the interpretation of any statute or regulation, or its application to the clients’ business activities.