We’re Going Backwards: The $20 Billion Plan to Close the Gender Healthcare Gap

September 30, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 2026, less than 10% of NIH research dollars go to women’s health—and that number is actually worse than it was in 1989, when it stood at 13%. "We are going backwards," says Katie Schubert, president and CEO of the Society for Women's Health Research. She is the lead architect of a new, first-of-its-kind national strategy backed by more than 60 major medical organizations—including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Heart Association, and the March of Dimes—that calls for $20 billion over ten years to close the women's health gap. The strategy is a direct response to a stubborn reality: women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health than men, and much of that disparity traces back to decades of excluding women from biomedical research.

The $20 Billion Roadmap: Five Buckets of Change

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

Never miss an episode of Healthful with Norah O'Donnell

Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

What you'll learn

1 (00:17) **Katie Schubert Introduces the $20 Billion National Strategy** - President and CEO of the Society for Women's Health Research outlines the first-ever roadmap to close the women's health gap.
2 (02:33) **Why 60+ Organizations United Behind the Plan** - The coalition includes the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Heart Association, National MS Society, and March of Dimes.
3 (04:52) **Bipartisan Support and the Path Through Congress** - The strategy launched on July 15th with Congresswoman DeLauro (D-CT) and has received bipartisan buy-in.
4 (06:04) **The 1993 Law and How Far We Still Have to Go** - Norah O'Donnell notes that before 1993, women were not required to be included in clinical research.
5 (09:14) **Why Women Spend 25% More of Their Lives in Poor Health** - The research gap directly contributes to this statistic.
6 (10:29) **The Personal Story That Drives Schubert's Mission** - As a mother of three, Schubert shares how a sinus infection during pregnancy revealed a critical gap.
7 (12:46) **Group Chat: Are Women Actually Sicker, or Just Better at Seeking Care?** - A listener asks whether women truly have more health issues or simply seek help more often.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

The world of women’s health is underfunded, under-discussed, and under-researched. Less than 10% of the funding at the National Institutes of Health - primarily funded by taxpayer dollars - goes towards women’s health research. The Society for Women's Health Research is trying to change that with a first-of-its kind, 20-billion dollar, 10-year federal roadmap to improve the health of more than half of the population. On this week's Healthful, SWHR President and CEO Katie Schubert joins Norah to discuss how the country can close the health care gap.

We’d love to hear what topics you want to hear covered on Healthful. Text Norah at 202-217-1107.