How a Limited Women's Health Definition Inadequately Shapes Research, Investment and Care Delivery

Report Summary

Despite decades of clinical investment and policy focus, women’s health in the U.S. remains structurally underserved and strategically underprioritized. Moreover, growing demand and a recent increase in investment activity have not translated into better outcomes.

Women are faced with fragmented benefit design, gaps in access to care and health outcomes that lag peer countries. These disparities are most evident in the ongoing maternal health crisis, characterized by a maternal mortality rate that has risen 131.9% since 1987 and is now more than 3x the average of other high-income OECD countries – despite the fact that an estimated 84% of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. are preventable.^1,2,3

Although women are the primary healthcare decision-makers within households, existing care models, reimbursement structures and clinical research do not appropriately prioritize their needs. The scope of women’s health is often limited to sexual and reproductive care, which only accounts for 5% of women’s total health burden even though an estimated 56% of that burden stems from conditions that disproportionately affect or manifest differently in women, including autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease and mental health disorders.⁴

This misalignment between perception and reality manifests in suboptimal resource allocation – how research is funded, clinicians are trained and benefits are designed – that compounds over time. The historic misallocation of resources is amplified by emerging technologies, evolving reproductive patterns and widening access gaps, which compels a reevaluation of how, where and for whom women’s healthcare is delivered.

This analysis examines seven critical trends that are reshaping women’s health access, delivery and investment:

1. The narrow definition of women’s health deemphasizes underdiagnosed and undertreated conditions.
2. Female underrepresentation in clinical research contributes to adverse outcomes and limits clinical efficacy.
3. Fertility trends and rising use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) are reshaping reproductive demand for fertility care and reproductive autonomy.
4. Maternal mortality is increasing as access to obstetric care is decreasing – particularly among racial minorities.
5. Midlife and post-reproductive care remain underprioritized.
6. Declining physician supply and labor and delivery closures are narrowing the availability of women’s healthcare.
7. Commercialization and consumerization of care are reshaping access and incentives through direct-to-consumer platforms and private equity deals.

Together, these trends are disrupting where women seek care, which providers deliver it and how costs and utilization are distributed across the lifespan.

Women’s healthcare spans every life stage, accounting for a disproportionate share of aggregate care utilization – making it a core driver of system performance, rather than a discrete service line. Stakeholders who continue to treat it as such risk misaligned capital investment, workforce planning, benefit design and care models required to manage this complex population effectively. Successful health system performance will depend in large part on how well it provides comprehensive care for women.

Methodology 

To conduct this analysis, secondary data were obtained from a variety of publicly available resources, including reports from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (including Centers for Disease Control Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics and Health Resources Services Administration), global health policy and research organizations.