This could be the year California state lawmakers pass new policies requiring insurance companies to cover menopause treatment for women, after similar efforts stalled two years in a row.
That’s after Governor Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders announced a proposal in a budget trailer bill this week to expand prescription drug coverage to treat perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause symptoms. It would also mandate insurance-covered screenings for women over 40.
“We worked really hard over the two years to not only move legislation on the issue but to do education,” said Democratic Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan of Orinda, who chairs the Select Committee on Reproductive Health. The committee has held numerous informational hearings on menopause treatment, inequities, and gaps in care.
Bauer-Kahan said the proposal, which applies to private and government-run insurance, will also provide more training resources for doctors.
“The bill is gamechanging, hopefully, for women of California,” she added. “I talk about it often, but I had to go to three doctors before a doctor was able and willing to talk to me about my menopause symptoms.”
Bauer-Kahan authored bills the last two years aiming to expand covered menopause treatment. But Newsom rejected both bills. In his veto message of Assembly Bill 432 last year, he cited cost concerns and said the bill’s expansive coverage mandate was “too far-reaching.”
But, Newsom committed to including a plan for menopause coverage in this year’s budget. His administration also added $3 million to fund a public awareness campaign as part of the new proposal.
“This proposal will expand access to essential, evidence-based care in a way that’s affordable and fiscally responsible for the state. At a time when Trump’s Big Ugly Bill is driving up health care costs nationwide, California is doing the opposite: lowering barriers and putting women’s health first,” Newsom said in a statement announcing the budget bill.
But, the vetos still drew criticism from actress and women’s health advocate Halle Berry.
Berry founded Respin, a company dedicated to providing women with reliable resources for menopause care and symptoms. She spoke at the New York Times Dealbook Summit in December.
“But that’s okay cause he’s not going to be Governor forever and with the way he’s overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be our next president either,” Berry said.
Newsom had committed to revisiting proposals for menopause care in the 2026-2027 budget before the time of Berry’s comments.
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