July 16, 2026
3 min read
Key takeaways:
- ACOG urged Congress to invest $20 billion into areas like research, workforce and public awareness.
- Investments would go toward strategies like campaigns, partnerships and workshops.
ACOG and other medical societies revealed a framework urging Congress to invest $20 billion over 10 years to “to transform women’s health research, care and outcomes,” the organization announced.
“Now that we’ve unveiled the framework, the real work begins to make it a reality,” Rachel Gandell Tetlow, ACOG vice president of government and political affairs, told Healio. “By design, this national strategy leaves room for the myriad women’s health organizations to find a priority they align with and advocate for it.”
Tetlow added that many Congressional members “already have existing legislative priorities that align with the framework. We want those members to see themselves in this strategy, and we’d like to collaborate with them to accomplish our shared missions to advance women’s health research and address our workforce challenges.
“We recognize that a policy framework this large is unlikely to make its way through Congress in one fell swoop,” she said. “We anticipate this framework guiding our strategy and the strategies of our partners and collaborators advancing legislation on these topics in the years to come.”
ACOG, Society for Women’s Health Research and Women First Research Coalition developed the National Strategy to Close the Women’s Health Gap framework, which is endorsed by over two dozen medical groups.
The framework “calls for a coordinated national effort to ensure that women benefit from scientific discovery, medical innovation, and evidence-based care throughout every stage of life,” an ACOG press release said.
According to ACOG, a milestone in women’s health was achieved in 1993, when Congress required women to be included in NIH-funded clinical research as part of the NIH Revitalization Act.
While that law “transformed medical research, significant gaps remain in women’s health research, clinical care and implementation,” the organization said. “Women make up more than half of the U.S. population, yet too often their health needs are ignored or minimized in research and clinical practice.”
The framework’s proposals include:
- $7 billion into research and innovation across federal agencies that “will unlock new scientific discoveries to inform our understanding of sex differences and women’s health” through strategies like establishing a national Women’s Health Centers of Excellence that would speed up the implementation of research into clinical practice;
- $1 billion into regulatory coordination and modernization, which “will ensure that research design, drug and treatment approvals, and coverage and reimbursement decisions account for sex differences, integrating the health needs of American women in regulatory systems”;
- $4 billion into data and evidence infrastructure, which would go toward establishing a private partnership for women’s midlife health data and a public workshop on women’s health research data;
- $7 billion into strengthening the women’s health clinical and research workforce by creating a women’s health clinical workforce loan repayment program and pathways supporting early- and mid-career investigators; and
- $1 billion in public awareness and health literacy, which would include national women’s health campaigns that will “deliver clear, actionable information about the health conditions, life stages, screenings, and research opportunities that matter most” to women and “support health care professionals in the clinic translating research findings into practice.”
“We have consistently seen bipartisan engagement and interest in improving women’s health research, research infrastructure, and bolstering the workforce,” Tetlow told Healio. “This is a long-term strategy we are building support for among women’s health organizations and within Congress.”
She added that “there is also a great deal of public interest in addressing the women’s health gap. We hope that this policy framework can serve as a central rallying point for those of us in the women’s health community interested in driving these priorities forward over the coming years.”
For more information:
Rachel Gandell Tetlow can be reached through Rachel Kingery, ACOG senior media relations manager, at rkingery@acog.com.
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
Disclosures: Healio could not determine relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.
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