Siloless: WHI 360° | November 9, 2024 | Special Edition
Future Lens: How Might a New Trump Presidency Impact Women’s Health and Femtech?
Open Access Research
Siloless is a publication featuring original research, data and analysis that is delivered to members of Femalytics, an intelligence and social platform for women’s health innovators. Occasionally, we produce analysis on topics of significant public interest that we designate as Open Access Research, which is made available to non-members. Interested in accessing future issues of Siloless and the wealth of women’s health market analysis, insights and AI-powered intelligence available on Femalytics? Click here to sign up for a free Femalytics membership.
Contents
- Overview
- How Was Data for This Report Collected?
- Reproductive Health
- Heath Coverage
- Mental Health
- Women’s Health Data
- Chronic Disease and Nutrition
Overview
The recent electoral victory of Donald Trump will likely usher in a large shift in health policy in the United States. While much attention has been focused on the new administration’s potential actions in reproductive health, there are other areas where Trump and and a new Congress could make significant changes to health policy, including care access and women’s health data collection. These health policy adjustments will impact female health during pregnancy, childbirth, menopause and beyond.
The Biden administration made a number of women’s health commitments, including having the Department of Defense and National Institutes of Health (NIH) direct more than $600 million to women’s health research. It is unknown whether these initiatives will remain in place, or how they might be altered in a new presidency. Notably the new Congress may take up a proposal to significantly reorganize the NIH, which will impact short-term organizational and funding priorities.
A shift in the health policy landscape will certainly have an impact on femtech. According to Pitchbook, femtech companies are nearing a potentially record year of venture funding, with nearly $1.2 billion raised (companies focusing on menopause and mid-life care have seen increased investor interest). Depending on the new administration’s actions, femtech companies in certain sectors may see increased investment, while interest in other areas may decline. For example, there may be enhanced focus on pregnancy and health issues occurring with menopause and mid-life, including cardiovascular disease.
Outside of investment, there may be significant shifts in utilization of femtech products and services — and even their ability to function. And, although the scope of their efforts will not match what the U.S. government can achieve, femtech platforms may be used to help preserve or bolster activities in certain areas, such as women’s health data collection (critical as it relates to tracking changes in hormonal status with perimenopause and menopause and how health conditions present differently in women versus men), through partnerships with other industry players such as academic institutions, payers and others.
How Was Data for This Report Collected?
To better understand the potential impact of the new Trump administration’s health policy activities on women’s health and femtech, we used Femmaya, a women’s health-focused AI innovation assistant that is at the core of the intelligence and membership platform Femalytics.
Femmaya has access to data on more than 34,000 companies in women’s health and related areas along with thousands of market insights collected since late 2023. Femmaya identified, reviewed and summarized various health policy proposals developed by potential Trump Administration staffers and advisors along with statements from the former presidential and vice presidential candidates and other sources.
This information was used to identify six issues that may be key areas of health policy focus for the administration in 2025 and beyond. The platform was also used to surface 15 companies that may provide insights into how femtech companies in these issue areas could be impacted by policy and regulatory decision-making by the new administration. These companies focus on women’s health across the lifespan: period care, childbirth, menopause and beyond.
The infographic below summarizes each issue area and highlights companies of interest.
Reproductive Health
There are concerns that Trump will take steps to restrict access to abortion and reproductive health services. While Trump has stated he would not sign a federal abortion ban, his administration may leverage existing laws, such as the Comstock Act, to impose limitations on medication abortion, particularly targeting drugs like mifepristone, which is commonly used in early pregnancy terminations. The Comstock Act prohibits delivery of materials like contraceptives and items that can be used for abortions.
In the area of contraception, the Trump administration may revive rules enacted previously that allow employers and academic institutions to reduce or eliminate covered birth control coverage benefits for religious reasons.
Reproductive Health: Companies to Watch
Hey Jane
Hey Jane is a provider of medical abortion care, including FDA-approved abortion pills to customers. In an environment with strong Comstock Act enforcement, Hey Jane might be unable to offer its services.
Twentyeight Health
Twentyeight Health could also be affected by the new administration’s health policy choices in the areas of Comstock Act enforcement and Medicaid access. Twentyeight Health might be prohibited from mailing the Morning After Pill and abortion pills to patients, and its core business could be negatively impacted by efforts to reduce Medicaid enrollment.
Health Coverage
Trump’s first term was marked by a failed effort to overturn the Affordable Care Act. While repealing the Act is politically unpopular, the administration may focus on finding ways to reduce premiums or alter plan structure, potentially by allowing insurers to group people with chronic conditions and pre-existing conditions, such as cancer, into the same plans. This could reduce premiums for healthier individuals while significantly increasing them for sicker patients.
Other potential area of focus include reducing Medicaid enrollment and privatizing Medicare, with some proposals seeking to make insurer-run Medicare Advantage plans the default option for beneficiaries.
Companies That Could be Impacted By Shifts in the Health Coverage Landscape
Herself Health
Herself Health specializes in providing care to patients 65 and older. Based in Minnesota, Herself Health is part of a trend of providing care specifically to mid-life and senior women. Herself Health’s services are covered via Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part B and Medigap. In an environment where Medicare Advantage is prioritized, in combination with an aging population, Herself Health and companies like it, could see higher demand.
Tia
Tia is a virtual women’s health clinic that is covered by insurance plans in New York, Arizona and California. If there are shifts in employer coverage of reproductive and female health, there may be an uptick in utilization of services like Tia by individuals.
Maven
Maven Clinic is a women-focused virtual care platform with a presence in 175 countries and is offered via employers and health plans and is also available to individuals. Maven’s services (or demand for its services) could be impacted by the new Trump administration. For example, if the administration works to incentivize family-building (as outlined in the Project 2025 governing blueprint), or if individuals seek fill gaps in health services due to less generous health plans using services like Maven.
Mental Health
The previous Trump administration worked to expand access to mental health services in certain areas, by for example, by extending telehealth behavioral health treatment. Mental health care has been traditionally a bipartisan issue and the new administration may build on previous efforts to boost virtual mental health solutions in the future.
Potential Impacts on Women’s Mental Health Virtual Platforms
Women-focused virtual mental health services that could benefit from higher levels of attention and focus.
Curio
Curio provides digital-first behavioral health solutions in fertility, childbirth, menopause and other areas.
Luna Joy
LunaJoy is a mental health virtual care platform that offers coaching, remote wellness monitoring and personalized medication and genetic testing.
Chronic Disease and Nutrition
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who may potentially have broad responsibility for overseeing federal healthcare activities, has has been vocal about his plans to address the chronic disease epidemic in America, which he attributes to the current food system and regulatory practices.
Chronic disease-focused femtech companies that could benefit from an increased focus on prevention include Midi Health and Vira Health.
Midi Health
Midi Health: A virtual care company that focuses on midlife care, especially the relationship between hormonal shifts, menopause and increased risk for chronic conditions including heart and metabolic disease.
Vira Health
Vira Health: This London-based company focuses on delivering menopause-focused research, clinical care and wellness advice to women in midlife. The company is expanding its services to the United States and may see higher interest as certain employers potentially look to strengthen their women’s health support activities depending on Trump administration activity in this area.
While Kennedy’s positions on vaccines are highly controversial, there may be broader support for efforts to prioritize the removal of pesticides and other hazardous substances from the food supply. Any efforts to create a healthier food environment that may benefit chronic disease prevention, may also receive support. There is currently a broader trend towards integrating nutrition into health care, where food is increasingly viewed as a critical component of medical treatment.
From a nutrition perspective, wider consumer awareness about the links between food health and medicine could boost interest in women-focused services in this area.
Allara
Allara helps women manage chronic hormonal conditions such as PCOS and hypothyroidism via a combination of approaches, including nutritional support.
Flo Living
Eative
Eative and Flo Living focus on nutrition-based approaches to managing health challenges associated with fluctuating hormones during menstruation, peri-menopause and beyond.
Women’s Health Data
The Trump administration could impact health data collection and use in a number of ways. First, efforts to re-organize the NIH, which is currently tasked with improving the collection of women’s health data, could result in a shift in priorities or funding.
Second, there are concerns about whether the administration will push for increased monitoring and reporting of pregnancy-related outcomes, such as abortions, miscarriages, and stillbirths, and the influence of these efforts on health privacy and law enforcement activities related to reproductive health and abortion.
Femtech companies in the fertility arena are already facing headwinds due to concerns about how reproductive health data could be used in U.S. states that restrict abortion.
Reductions in government efforts to drive the collection of women’s health data could result in greater private sector activity in this area. Companies to watch include those that have made collection, interpretation and utilization of women’s health data a priority such as Dorsata, NextGen Jane and Persperity Health.
Dorsata
Dorsata provides a maternity management and clinical decision support solution for OB-GYN practices. The company helps clinicians practice evidence-based medicine using structured clinical data sourced from a nationwide network of women’s health providers.
NextGen Jane
NextGen Jane delivers health insights via menstrual blood analysis. It is currently collecting data for the “only longitudinal molecular study of women’s menstruation” which may lead to improved diagnostics, treatment and other benefits.
Persperity Health
Persperity Health is developing a continuous biosensor technology that delivers real-time insights into hormone health via sweat. There is potential for this technology to go beyond individuals and be integrated into clinical trials, or clinical practice to provide improved insights about fertility, menopause management, stress, metabolic health and other areas.
Join Femalytics for More Insights
Focused on how technology, policy, and other forces are shaping women’s health in a rapidly changing world? Join Femalytics. Access an AI innovation assistant powered by a growing database of women’s health market, competitive and company intelligence, original research that goes beyond the obvious, and a private innovator’s social network. Click here to learn more and start a free membership.