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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  • Visualizing Health Policy: Intersection of State Abortion Policy and Clinical Practice

    Other Post

    This Visualizing Health Policy infographic examines state policies related to abortion and their intersection with clinical practice. Nine of 10 reported abortions in the United States are in the first trimester. Between 2003 and 2012, the abortion rate decreased 18% among women aged 15 to 44 years. Twenty-five states have laws that restrict insurance coverage of abortion in private plans. Twenty-seven states require women seeking abortion to wait 18 hours or more before obtaining an…

  • Health and the 2016 Election: Implications for Women

    Perspective

    The leading US presidential candidates and their parties’ platforms offer distinct and often opposing policy proposals on issues that affect women’s health. In the Women’s Health Issues journal, the Kaiser Family Foundation's Caroline Rosenzweig, Usha Ranji, and Alina Salganicoff present their analysis of the differences between the Democratic and Republican parties on range of women’s health policy issues – including the Affordable Care Act, reproductive health, older women’s health, and violence prevention.

  • New Survey: Women’s Health Coverage at All Time High; Affordability & Access Challenges Remain

    News Release

    A new nationally-representative survey of women from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that coverage rates for women are at all-time highs and use of preventive services is on the rise, but many women still face a wide range of affordability and other access challenges. Conducted in the summer and fall of 2017, the survey provides a national overview of women’s health care coverage, access, affordability, and experiences among nonelderly women (ages 18 to 64) in the U.S. Highlights…

  • Analysis: Insurance Riders to Cover Abortion Services Not Available to Women in States That Restrict Abortion Coverage

    News Release

    In 10 states, insurance plans are currently banned from including abortion as a covered service in state-regulated private plans -- all individually purchased policies and fully-insured group plans. Most of these laws do not include exceptions for rape, incest, or health endangerment. In nine of these states, insurers may sell health insurance riders for abortion coverage, but the availability of such riders has been unknown. A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the insurance plans offered in…

  • Women’s Connections to the Healthcare Delivery System: Key Findings from the 2017 Kaiser Women’s Health Survey

    Issue Brief

    This brief presents findings from the 2017 Kaiser Women’s Health Survey, a nationally representative survey of women ages 18 to 64 on their health status, relationships to regular providers and sites of care, and the frequency at which they receive routine preventive care. The Kaiser Family Foundation has conducted surveys on women’s health care in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2013. This brief focuses on findings from the newest 2017 survey and presents some findings compared…

  • Four in 10 Women Voters Age 18-44 Are “More Enthusiastic” to Vote in Mid-Terms This Year, Almost Three Times Higher than the Last Mid-Term

    News Release

    With the 2018 primary election season concluding in August and the general congressional mid-term election season ramping up, Kaiser Family Foundation polling finds younger women (ages 18-44) voters are more enthusiastic about voting this year than in previous mid-term elections. In a new data note about KFF’s June Health Tracking Poll that is focused on women voters’ influence in this year’s elections and beyond, the 39 percent of younger women voters expressing “more enthusiasm” is…

  • KFF Poll: Public Opinion and Knowledge on Reproductive Health Policy

    Poll Finding

    The latest KFF Poll examines the public’s attitudes towards different facets of reproductive health care in light of recent policy changes made by the Trump administration. This poll examines attitudes towards major changes to the Title X program and attitudes toward state-level laws restricting abortions after a fetal heartbeat has been detected. The poll also looks at public awareness of provisions related to women’s health that are part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

  • Poll Finds Most Americans Oppose the Trump Administration’s Changes to Restrict Title X Family Planning Funds from Clinics that also Provide or Refer for Abortion

    News Release

    A new KFF poll of the public’s views on reproductive health issues finds most Americans, including majorities of women of reproductive age, are concerned that access to women’s reproductive health and preventive care services may be limited by the Trump administration’s changes to Title X, the nation’s federal family planning program. The poll examines the public’s views of major regulatory changes to the Title X program, which funds nearly 4,000 clinics nationally to pay for…

  • Status of 8 Legal Challenges to HHS Title X Family Planning Rule

    Feature

    Two federal courts have now issued nationwide preliminary injunctions against the new HHS Title X regulations for family planning clinics receiving federal funding. This Chart of the Week breaks down the status of all eight legal challenges nationwide.