Women's Health Policy

ABORTION IN THE U.S.

KFF infographic explaining who regulates mifepristone, showing four entities and their roles: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves and regulates medications for safety and effectiveness; state legislatures pass laws that can restrict or protect access; courts rule on legal cases affecting regulation; and Congress can pass federal legislation influencing regulation.

Louisiana v. FDA: Access to Mifepristone

Louisiana sued the FDA in October 2025, claiming the FDA’s 2023 regulatory change eliminating the requirement that mifepristone be dispensed in-person—allowing it to be mailed or dispensed at retail pharmacies—harm the state's ability to enforce its abortion ban. This brief reviews the Louisiana v. FDA case and provides an overview of the other pending litigation involving mifepristone, as well as the mounting tension between states seeking to protect abortion and those banning the provision of abortion.

CONTRACEPTIve care IN THE U.S.

An Update on Medicaid, Title X and Planned Parenthood

This brief provides an update on Planned Parenthood clinic closures and participation in the Title X program amid substantial policy changes resulting in funding reductions. These changes include the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the withholding of federal Title X funding to Planned Parenthood clinics.

SELECTED RESOURCES

Over-the-Counter Oral Contraceptive Pills

In July 2023, the FDA approved Opill, the first daily oral contraceptive pill to become available over the counter (OTC) without a doctor’s prescription. This issue brief provides an overview of OTC oral contraceptives and laws and policies related to insurance coverage.

featured

A promotional image for the the KFF Health Policy 101 Issues in Women’s Health chapter

Health Policy Issues in Women’s Health

Examine the core health coverage and access issues —shaped by federal and state policies—that affect women’s health today, including health coverage and costs, reproductive health services, maternal health, mental health, and intimate partner violence.

State Profiles for Women’s Health

Explore the latest national and state-specific data and policies on women’s health. Topics include health status, insurance and Medicaid coverage, use of preventive services, sexual health, maternal and infant health, and abortion policies. Many indicators provide state-level information for women of different racial and ethnic groups.

The essentials
  • Women’s Health Insurance Coverage

    This factsheet reviews major sources of coverage for women residing in the U.S., discusses the ACA's impact on coverage, and the coverage challenges that many women continue to face.
  • Medicaid Coverage for Women

    This data note presents key data points describing the current state of the Medicaid program as it affects women, including eligibility, reproductive health, chronic conditions, and more.
  • Dobbs: What are the Implications for Racial Disparities?

    This analysis examines the implications of the Dobbs decision and state restrictions on abortion coverage for racial disparities in access to care and health outcomes.
  • State Health Facts: Women's Health Indicators

    Information on women’s health status, utilization of services, health insurance coverage, family planning and childbirth, and abortion statistics and policies.
  • Key Facts on Abortion in the United States

    This report answers some key questions about abortion in the United States and presents data collected before the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

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511 - 520 of 875 Results

  • Challenges to the FDA’s Approval of Medication Abortion Pills Could Curtail Access Throughout the United States

    News Release

    In anticipation of a ruling in a case with enormous implications for access to medication abortion in the United States, a new KFF brief explains the impact of this case, and others filed in federal courts, involving the FDA’s regulation of medication abortion. The case that has gotten the most attention recently is Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) v. FDA, filed in November 2022, a challenge to the FDA’s decision to approve mifepristone (the first…

  • Health Coverage and Expenses: Impact on Older Women’s Economic Well-Being

    Issue Brief

    In this article in the Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation examine how health issues that women face over the course of their lives, as well as policies that shape Medicare, Medicaid and other supplemental coverage, can affect retired women's economic well-being. They found that women's health care expenses were higher than men's; that older women paid for a greater share of their total spending out of pocket and that…

  • Ensuring the Health Care Needs of Women: A Checklist for Health Exchanges

    Issue Brief

    To inform the development of the state health insurance Exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, this checklist identifies key coverage, affordability and access issues that are important for women. Based on lessons learned from women’s health research and the Massachusetts experience, the checklist considers essential health benefits, implementation of no-cost preventive services including contraception, provider networks and affordability, outreach and enrollment efforts, and the importance of including gender and other demographic characteristics in data collection…

  • Medicaid and Family Planning: Background and Implications of the ACA

    Issue Brief

    This brief reviews the role of Medicaid in financing and enabling access to family planning services for low-income women; discusses how states have expanded access to these services with Medicaid; and highlights future programmatic challenges in the context of the health care delivery and coverage reforms resulting from the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

  • What Does Feminism Mean Today? A New Washington Post/Kaiser Survey Explores the Public’s Views

    News Release

    A new Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation survey explores what feminism means in today's America, providing a detailed look at the complex views that both women and men hold about the word and the social movement that bears its name. Featured in a series of articles and interactive features online at The Washington Post, the new survey finds almost half of the public, including six in 10 women, identify themselves as either a “strong feminist” or…

  • A Gender Gap in Economic Security for Seniors

    News Release

    Following up on an earlier column for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank on seniors and poverty, Drew Altman looks at why older women will be more at risk of economic insecurity than men in the future. All previous columns by Drew Altman are available.

  • Beyond the Numbers: Access to Reproductive Health Care for Low-Income Women in Five Communities

    Report

    This report summarizes the major findings from KFF and HMA case studies in five U.S. communities, highlighting cross-cutting themes and the degree to which low-income women in diverse communities face challenges in accessing reproductive and sexual health care, as well as promising initiatives established by community providers to address barriers and improve access to these basic services.