Home Women's Health Policy Topics

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 Back at the Supreme Court

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.

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Women's Health Policy

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Women's Health Policy

View the Latest: Women's Health Policy

Filter

List Grid

701 - 710 of 875 Results

  • Web Briefing for Media – The Supreme Court, Birth Control, and Religious Freedom: Implications of Zubik v. Burwell

    Event Date:
    Event

    On March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Zubik v. Burwell, legal challenges brought by nonprofit corporations challenging the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive coverage requirement. The 2014 Hobby Lobby decision established that certain firms with religious beliefs should be relieved of the requirement of paying for contraceptive coverage. In this case, religious nonprofits are objecting to the regulations that the Obama Administration has developed to accommodate their religious objections to birth control, claiming it…

  • Is There a Health Care Vote? More for Democrats and Women than Other Groups

    News Release

    About One Third of Americans Perceive Wide-Scale Effort to Limit Women’s Reproductive Health Choices and Services; Most Who Do Say the Effort is a ‘Bad Thing’ Health care is one of many issues that will be important for voters in the presidential election, particularly for Democrats and women, finds the March Kaiser Health Tracking Poll. More than a third (36%) of voters consider health care “extremely important” to their vote in this year’s presidential election,…

  • One in 10 Larger Nonprofits Have Sought an ‘Accommodation’ to the ACA Contraceptive Coverage Rule, Analysis Finds

    News Release

    As the U.S. Supreme Court gears up to hear a new round of legal challenges to the ACA’s contraceptive coverage requirement, a new Kaiser Family Foundation data note finds 10 percent of nonprofits with more than 1,000 employees have requested an "accommodation" to the health law's birth control requirement. Overall, 3 percent of nonprofits with 10 or more employees reported they have sought an accommodation, according to the analysis, which draws from responses to the Kaiser/Health…

  • Washington Post/ Kaiser Family Foundation Feminism Survey

    Poll Finding

    This partnership survey from The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation 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. The survey assesses the public's priorities for improving women's lives, their views on the relevance of the women's movement, the role of government in promoting gender equality, their beliefs about discrimination,…

  • An image of text is an excerpt from FirstX Laurie Sobel's quick take which reads, "[Indiana, Oklahoma, and Nebraska] are the only states that took additional state-level action to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid during the year the federal ban has been in effect. With the expiration of the national ban on Planned Parenthood Medicaid reimbursement and the Medina decision clearing the way for states to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, other states may follow suit."

    The Sunsetting of the Federal Planned Parenthood Medicaid Ban Shifts Decisions to States  

    Quick Insights

    “[Indiana, Oklahoma, and Nebraska] are the only states that took additional state-level action to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid during the year the federal ban has been in effect. With the expiration of the national ban on Planned Parenthood Medicaid reimbursement and the Medina decision clearing the way for states to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, other states may follow suit.”

  • Putting Women’s Health Care Disparities On The Map: Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the State Level

    Report

    This Kaiser Family Foundation report documents the persistence of disparities between white women and women of color across the country. It provides a rare and comprehensive state-level look at disparities among women of different races and ethnicities on a broad range of indicators of health and well-being, including rates of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, AIDS and cancer, and access to health insurance and health screenings.

  • Early Sexual Experiences: How Voluntary? How Violent?

    Report

    Edward Laumann, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, shares findings from the 1994 National Health and Social Life Survey, which suggest that having a violent or coercive first sexual experience is not as rare an occurrence as had been previously believed. Seminar participants -- experts on sexuality and sexual relationships -- debate the prevalence and consequences of abusive and negative first sexual experiences. This publication was produced as part of an ongoing seminar series,…

  • Disparities In Maternal And Infant Health: Are We Making Progress? Lessons From California

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief prepared by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco and the Kaiser Family Foundation, analyzes changes in racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in maternal and infant health in California in 1994/1995 and 1999/2001. The issue brief also reviews the policy implications of these differences and offers general recommendations for health care policymakers to consider in addressing health disparities. Issue Brief (.pdf)