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EVERYTHING
Women’s Health PAC Focusing on Reimbursement
What: Women’s Health PAC announced a “Bipartisan Women’s Health Reimbursement Summit” in March in New York, with an aim to identify and address lower reimbursement for women’s health procedures, especially OB-GYN.
Key line: “’The main issue we’ve heard throughout the last 8 months from WHPAC stakeholders is the dire state of women’s health reimbursement. We’re seeing rural labor and delivery units close and critical services like well-woman care and cancer treatment become increasingly inaccessible. Every conversation we’ve had with doctors, hospital administrators, investors and innovators points to reimbursement as the root cause. That’s why we’re taking this fight to Washington – because fixing the system means increasing access, keeping doctors in the field, doors open and improving outcomes for all women,’ said Women’s Health PAC co-founder Jodi Neuhauser.”
Source: Women’s Health PAC
Physician Group Sues Trump Admin for Public Health Data
What: Doctors for America, a nonprofit group representing thousands of US physicians, is suing the Trump administration for removing public health data from government websites. They argue the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) lacked the legal authority to remove the sites, and the agencies didn’t follow laws relating to accessing public information.
Key line: “’The removal of the webpages and datasets creates a dangerous gap in the scientific data available to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks, deprives physicians of resources that guide clinical practice, and takes away key resources for communicating and engaging with patients,’ Doctors for America wrote in its complaint.”
Source: Bloomberg
What’s a Femtech Leader To Do in Trump Land?
What: How are leaders of women’s health startups approaching the Trump administration? Inc. reports that it runs the gamut of looking at former Trump official Kellyanne Conway “as a go-between” with the White House to looking for rays of hope in the RFK, Jr. MAHA movement.
Key line: “Despite all the problems that could come with the second Trump term, Evvy co-founder and CEO Priyanka Jain says the women’s health care industry still has momentum behind it. ‘Patient needs don’t go away, even if the administration wants to pretend that they don’t exist,’ says Jain, whose New York City-based startup provides at-home testing and clinical care for the vaginal microbiome. ‘In some ways, it almost makes the opportunity bigger, because there’s going to be more gaps.’”
Source: Inc.
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Pre-Eclampsia Risk Models Don’t Work Well After 48 Hours
What: A study of over 8,000 women with pre-eclampsia found that two risk models that aim to identify women who will have severe complications don’t work well beyond 48 hours after hospital admission.
Key line: “’Since there are no better options, clinicians may still use these two models for ongoing assessments after the first admission with pre-eclampsia, but the predictions should be treated with increasing caution as the pregnancy progresses,’ the authors say. More prediction models are needed that perform well over time, they add.”
Source: King’s College London / PLOS
MENOPAUSE
Is It a Good Idea to Take Testosterone After Menopause?
What: The New York Times looks at the increased interest in testosterone to treat menopause symptoms, helped along by menopause influencers on TikTok and Instagram. It is being promoted as a treatment to “boost mood, cognition, muscle strength and heart health,” in addition to increasing female libido.
Key line: “’People are trying to take testosterone for everything — it’s become the new feel-good drug,’ said Dr. Kagan, who is a clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and has prescribed and studied testosterone in women for more than 20 years. But for anything beyond libido, ‘if you really delve into the data, it’s just not ready for prime time.’”
Source: New York Times
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