Women's Health PAC: The Force Behind Women's Health Legislation

[00:00:07] Hi, I'm Dr. Mitzi Krockover and welcome to Beyond The Paper Gown where we discuss the issues

[00:00:13] important to living our healthiest lives and the factors that affect it.

[00:00:18] So let me ask you, did you know that only 11% of NIH research funding goes to women's health?

[00:00:25] Or that it's more difficult for devices than therapeutics for women to get to market, partly

[00:00:31] because of that lack of research on various women's health issues, and partly because regulators

[00:00:36] aren't always knowledgeable about some of those issues?

[00:00:40] On the flip side, did you know that increasing access to preventive services and expanding

[00:00:46] health insurance to lower income individuals through Medicaid actually saves lives?

[00:00:52] For the 50% of pregnant women in the United States that are on Medicaid, that's certainly

[00:00:57] a huge advantage.

[00:00:59] So what do all of these issues have in common?

[00:01:02] Each one is impacted by decisions made by our lawmakers.

[00:01:08] We've certainly seen the challenges of changes in reproductive health legislation,

[00:01:13] but what might not be so obvious is all the ways that policy impacts on women's health.

[00:01:19] From heart disease to Alzheimer's, autoimmune disorders to cancer, policy shape, everything

[00:01:26] from research funding to insurance coverage.

[00:01:29] These decisions impact millions of lives, yet women's health often takes a back seat in

[00:01:35] Washington.

[00:01:36] But that's changing.

[00:01:38] Today I'm joined by Jody Newhouser and Liz Powell, co-founders

[00:01:43] of the Women's Health Political Action Committee or PAC.

[00:01:47] They co-founded the PAC with colleague Candice McDonald,

[00:01:50] and they've created a groundbreaking bipartisan approach to elevate women's health

[00:01:55] in the political arena, whether you're a health care professional,

[00:01:59] concerned citizen, or someone looking to make a difference.

[00:02:03] My guests have developed actionable ways to get involved and amplify our voices in this

[00:02:08] crucial conversation which will hear all about in this podcast episode.

[00:02:14] Jody Newhouser is a serial entrepreneur and women's health leader with 19 plus years of

[00:02:19] experience building and scaling B2B and B2C consumer health care brands across health care

[00:02:26] travel, consumer products, and media.

[00:02:29] And she was recognized as a top 10 inspiring healthcare entrepreneur to watch in 2023 by

[00:02:35] entrepreneur.

[00:02:37] She is also the founder of In Women's Health, the first careers platform for women's health.

[00:02:43] Liz Powell is the founder and president of GDG Consulting, a bipartisan government

[00:02:49] relations firm. GDG provides strategies for businesses and nonprofits,

[00:02:54] focusing on health, high tech, and innovation.

[00:02:58] Liz is an attorney and former lobbyist.

[00:03:00] She has served as legislative director for multiple house representatives

[00:03:04] and has worked on various political campaigns.

[00:03:07] Her expertise spans legislative drafting, committee work, and coalition building.

[00:03:35] I can't be more excited about this episode.

[00:03:39] It is timely, it is provocative and it is important.

[00:03:43] So I'd like to welcome my guest, Jody Newhouser and Liz Powell.

[00:03:48] We're going to talk policy and packs in time for the election.

[00:03:55] Now, Missy, first of all, thank you so much for having us and for bringing this important message

[00:03:59] to your audience.

[00:04:00] It's really important to have opportunities to speak with people like you.

[00:04:05] They can help us get the message out there, so thanks for having us.

[00:04:08] Thank you.

[00:04:10] Liz, in recent years, women's health has gained more attention, but despite this,

[00:04:15] there are still significant gaps in research funding, access to care, and improved outcomes.

[00:04:21] What are some of those gaps?

[00:04:24] There are many.

[00:04:25] There are sort of key areas of women's health where it either solely

[00:04:29] disproportionately or differently impacts the health of women.

[00:04:32] And so, for example, autoimmune disease, 80% of patients are women, all summer 66% of patients

[00:04:37] are women, interestingly over 80% of caregivers are women, so there's like a double whammy with that one.

[00:04:43] Heart disease, especially after menopause, number one killer of women, and when a woman is sent home

[00:04:49] after ER visit for a heart-related condition, twice as likely to die than men.

[00:05:03] So, listener, let me take a moment.

[00:05:05] Are you surprised to hear these stats?

[00:05:08] They are pretty staggering.

[00:05:10] I'd like to also take a moment to underline the definition of women's health that Liz mentioned.

[00:05:16] When we talk about women's health, we are, of course, talking about those conditions that affect

[00:05:20] women's solely such as reproductive health and cancers.

[00:05:25] And we're also talking about those conditions that manifest differently from men, such as heart disease,

[00:05:30] where the symptoms may be different in women.

[00:05:33] And then there are conditions where women are the majority of those with that condition, such as

[00:05:39] certain autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer's and osteoporosis.

[00:05:44] And with respect to cardiovascular disease, that kills almost one in three women annually,

[00:05:51] and cancer in women, research and resources dedicated to women's health lack far behind.

[00:05:57] So, there's lots of statistics, cancers.

[00:06:00] Obviously, we know a varying cancer, 50% mortality rate, way higher than the other single-sex

[00:06:07] cancers. Another lung cancer impacts men and women, and yet it's women who have never smoked

[00:06:13] that rates are soaring. And we don't have the science, we don't know why.

[00:06:17] So, there's these gaps, and then there's also the gaps, and there's still so much more we need to learn.

[00:06:22] So, how does policy come into play with all of that?

[00:06:28] Policies at the core. So, when you're developing an innovation to address a gap,

[00:06:34] there are so many different barriers that you have to move through to bring something to market

[00:06:39] into patients. And so, the early side is getting funding. And so, there's VC money,

[00:06:45] there's government money, there's grant programs. And if the grant programs aren't

[00:06:50] pointing out that need for sex-based data collection or sex-based focus studies, right?

[00:06:56] Then we're not getting enough funds at that early stage to just develop that science into a

[00:07:01] product or an innovation.

[00:07:04] Let's go on to highlight a fundamental issue. The structures that are supposed to support innovation

[00:07:09] often fall short when it comes to women. Beyond funding challenges, once you have an idea

[00:07:15] and create a product, you then have to navigate the FDA's approval process, which can be another

[00:07:22] major hurdle. FDA well-intentioned and has a lot of bipartisan support, which is great.

[00:07:28] However, there are, they don't have the talent, they don't have the expertise in women's health.

[00:07:32] So, what we have found is many, many companies having to go through FDA and spend time educating

[00:07:39] on just basic biology of women and basic process of how whether it's a drug device will impact

[00:07:45] the female body and because of the structure of the way the government system is set up, you

[00:07:50] then have to wait another 30, 60 days before you can do your next meeting. Which then if you

[00:07:55] add that up, that's months and months sometimes years of delay when an innovation could have

[00:08:00] been brought to market much faster. So there's a change in cheaper, good point.

[00:08:06] Liz also pointed out that representation of women and inclusion of women of color has also

[00:08:11] been a challenge and is not always ensured to the end of the trial.

[00:08:17] But getting back to the challenges of bringing a product to market, even if one manages to

[00:08:21] clear the regulatory hurdle in order to be competitive or even successful, the product or service

[00:08:28] needs to be reimbursed by insurance. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or CMS

[00:08:34] determine in large part what these insurance plans cover and influence other insurers.

[00:08:40] If CMS doesn't reimburse, then it can be next to impossible to get product adoption of your

[00:08:45] innovation and patients lose out. They don't get access. So government plays a key role.

[00:08:50] Those are just a few examples in shaping the landscape of women's health, which is why

[00:08:54] we have to educate Congress, educate the administration and then show them solutions. There are

[00:09:00] solutions out there. There are ways that we can change policy and funding to truly impact the

[00:09:04] women. Jody just to underline a little bit of what Liz was talking about as an entrepreneur,

[00:09:11] what was your experience in terms of how policy impacted what you are able to do?

[00:09:17] One of the first ideas I had was about how do we aggregate data in the fertility sphere

[00:09:22] across a number of different platforms, blood data, psychological data, a number of different

[00:09:28] things and bring that together in a personalized algorithm in order to provide literally

[00:09:34] personalized care. But when I looked at the regulatory pathway of what that would have to look like

[00:09:39] in order to actually bring an innovation like that to market, we didn't really see an easy

[00:09:44] regulatory pathway to market that wasn't to Liz's point going to take us lots of time and money

[00:09:49] to commercialization, to bring it to commercialization. And so what we ended up with was an idea

[00:09:55] to essentially create almost like an Amazon of women's health, which was consumer-facing,

[00:09:59] but very different than the actual delivery of care and impacting someone's

[00:10:04] someone from a care delivery perspective. As you're speaking, I'm also thinking about the fact

[00:10:10] that many women's health companies have a role challenge with respect to getting funding and so

[00:10:16] I would assume that by reducing some of that regulatory process that it might make it even more

[00:10:22] attractive to funders. Is that a fair statement? Yeah, absolutely. Exactly. And Liz talk a little bit

[00:10:29] also about some of the ways that policies can impact on specific areas of women's health.

[00:10:37] How does policy really affect the care or the prevention and diagnosis of those conditions?

[00:10:45] Yeah, it's a great question. So, in so many conditions, there's policies around like grant programs

[00:10:53] that fund specific initiatives. So around rare disease, there's some grant programs that fund

[00:10:59] specific diseases. And so what that does, that puts more money out into the marketplace for entrepreneurs,

[00:11:05] for researchers to be able to use to advance science and bring innovation and market, which of

[00:11:11] of course then helps get VC money if there's money to match that. So I think that it can

[00:11:18] definitely impact there. The other ways setting like quality measures, right? That would that have to

[00:11:24] be met. And so with Obamacare for example, there was a lot of preventative health inserted into

[00:11:30] basic required access to care that has shaped health care for women. So there's still more to do

[00:11:37] there. But those are there's are sort of little steps that we've seen of improvement and another

[00:11:42] interesting one is more on the state level. We're seeing almost universal state,

[00:11:47] medicated adoption of care for women throughout the full 12 months of pregnancy and postpartum,

[00:11:55] which is new. And interestingly, it was somewhat of a political issue of whether or not

[00:12:00] the governors if they were a Republican or a Democrat, that would determine whether they would

[00:12:04] do Medicaid expansion. But with this issue across the board, everyone is finally seeing the need

[00:12:11] for maternal health. So a little success, a little something to see that it does work to advocate

[00:12:18] to talk to government decision makers that you actually can influence policy.

[00:12:23] If I can underline those two examples that you gave with the coverage of preventive health

[00:12:28] services, there was a demonstrable effect, positive effect on finding cancer's earlier and intervening

[00:12:36] earlier as well as with those states that did adopt that Medicaid expansion, they had better

[00:12:41] outcomes in the states that didn't. So those are great, tangible examples of what we were talking

[00:12:48] about. Another area that has been shaped by policy is breast cancer screening. According to

[00:13:05] the CDC, early detection of breast cancer leads to a five years survival of about 99%.

[00:13:11] The FDA has passed laws that require radiology facilities to inform patients of the results

[00:13:17] by letter and most recently inform patients if their mammogram showed dense breasts,

[00:13:23] which makes it harder to find lesions. The recommended step is for those women to obtain a

[00:13:29] second imaging study, either ultrasound or MRI, but insurance may not cover these as screening techniques,

[00:13:36] which adds to the out of pocket cost of these women and may lead to later diagnosis and poor

[00:13:42] outcome if they don't follow up. So I asked Liz to comment, you're going to get me very fired up on

[00:13:49] this one. So let me do a little bit of background, I'm going to get right into the policy challenge

[00:13:54] with that one. So up to 50% of women have dense breasts, 71% of breast cancer patients have dense

[00:14:01] and yet mammograms alone do not pick up tumors or do that detection of cancer in women with

[00:14:08] dense breasts. So it's great in that the U.S. preventative services task force has come out with

[00:14:14] a recommendation that women 40 and over should get mammogram, so that's good. However, they're

[00:14:19] not recommending supplemental screening or what we call additional screening that's essential

[00:14:25] for women with dense breasts. And so that gives the okay to insurance companies to not provide it.

[00:14:31] And if a woman has genetic predisposition, her mother or her, you know, it's in the family

[00:14:37] that someone had breast cancer then in those cases they are usually getting some access. But for

[00:14:43] the mass public, they're not getting that access. And so there was legislation called the

[00:14:48] find it early act that would require coverage for supplemental screening. So across the board,

[00:14:55] whether it's private, CMS or Centers for Medicare and Medicaid all would be required to cover

[00:15:02] this supplemental screening. We've laid the groundwork for the connection between policy and

[00:15:18] women's health. So I asked Jody what the motivation was for creating the pack and what issues

[00:15:23] they intend to focus on. Yeah, I think the, you know, I'll give a little bit of the founding

[00:15:29] story because it helps provide some context to answer your question. And I think the,

[00:15:33] you know, when we looked across the board, I had some experience in, in Presidential Pack,

[00:15:39] our staff co-founder. I'm also a Candace also as a experience in Pax, Liz's Worktime Campaigns

[00:15:45] and has also worked, you know, has experience with Pax. And so we all have had this, we have

[00:15:49] had this really interesting experience understanding the role of a political action committee in our

[00:15:54] government. And I was blown away by the fact that there wasn't already a women's health pack

[00:16:00] that looked across the board at this holistic picture of what makes a woman healthy. And so

[00:16:05] that's I think one of the defining differences in the pack that we have put together focused on

[00:16:10] women's health versus some of the others that are out there that are focused on, you know,

[00:16:13] very specific causes related to women's health. So we're looking at unifying and supporting

[00:16:19] candidates and spreading messages that help have us understand that as women regardless of what

[00:16:25] side of the, of the isle or the issues we fall on on certain issues within women's health,

[00:16:30] we have a shared experience as a woman. Right? We all go through administration. We all go through

[00:16:34] menopause. A lot of us will go through motherhood. A group of us will go through for infertility.

[00:16:40] And so how can we really see women's health as an opportunity to bring women and men, but, you know,

[00:16:46] women together around a shared experience related to their health? I think if you ask any woman out there,

[00:16:52] every woman has some sort of women's health story. So we wanted to bring together an organization

[00:16:57] that brought those stories to these policy makers on, you know, in Washington and also helped get

[00:17:04] more policy makers in Washington that are that are, that understand where we're coming from

[00:17:10] and are supportive of what we want to accomplish. How are you going to decide which candidates

[00:17:17] will receive a commitment from the pack? Liz, I'm all you take that one. Sure. So we have a political

[00:17:26] committee and we are watching the top races that will have the biggest impact on who controls

[00:17:33] Congress. So we really want to shape those key races as much as we can. So we're watching those.

[00:17:41] But we are also coming up with a questionnaire that we are going to be sending out to candidates to answer.

[00:17:46] And so we want to hear what they think about of, you know, how they even defied women's health

[00:17:51] broadly. And then what they think about key issues around access to contraception for example,

[00:17:58] maternal health, menopause. We want to see that they have either taken action in those areas

[00:18:05] and these broad areas of women's health. They are planning to if elected. Those are the types of

[00:18:11] things that we want to hear from candidates. And then, Jodie Candison, I will sit down and review

[00:18:17] and make that final list of 10 candidates that we are going to support financially.

[00:18:23] Terrific. And so where is the funding coming from? And how can people get involved?

[00:18:30] A lot Jodie answered that one. Yeah, so we have a number different ways that people can

[00:18:35] involved. And this will talk about the funding piece. So we have a number of events that are happening

[00:18:40] around the country between now and the election. And then a few planned for after the election as

[00:18:45] well in cities like San Francisco, Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, Colorado. We're really kind of all

[00:18:53] over the place. And that has, you know, midseats really been a ground swell of support. When we launched

[00:18:58] this pack in May in DC, we were overwhelmed with the amount of people who came to us and said,

[00:19:04] how can I get involved? How can I support? Can I lead something? Can I use my voice to bring more awareness

[00:19:11] to what you guys are trying to do? And because of that, we've been able to host a lot of these events

[00:19:16] in a lot of these cities. So the first way they can get involved is go to our website,

[00:19:21] women's healthpack.us. So we're all coming together as one us and sign just sign up for our email

[00:19:28] newsletter to make sure that you're in loop on both policy things that are happening out of Washington,

[00:19:33] but also what we are doing as a pack. And then from there, attend an event in your city or in

[00:19:40] a city close to you. And then the last way to get involved is really to be a part, become a part of

[00:19:44] our founder circle. And our founder circle is really that close-knit group of people that we turn

[00:19:50] to as the co-founders of the pack for guidance on a number of things, from a policy perspective,

[00:19:55] from a marketing perspective, from a legal perspective, from an industry perspective. And so it

[00:20:00] is an exclusive group of industry leaders that meet once a month. This is not just going to stop

[00:20:07] at the election, correct? No. Yeah, we really see this first election as this first election

[00:20:15] cycle as our proof of concept. And sort of showing the industry and those on the hill that we

[00:20:21] have a group of a significant group of people behind us, both from just a numbers and a political

[00:20:26] capital perspective, but also a financial perspective. And then we'll use the momentum that

[00:20:33] we're building in this election cycle to move into what we'll probably look at as a two and four

[00:20:38] year strategic plan based on longer election cycles. And really thinking about, what do we want to

[00:20:43] do in more off-cycle years? And what do we want to do in sort of on-cycle years? And how are

[00:20:50] we going to continue to build those relationships with those on the hill between those cycles?

[00:20:55] So much longer play here and we're just getting started. And if folks can't necessarily join in

[00:21:03] person, in one of those events, how else can they contribute or get involved?

[00:21:09] They can come to any of our webinars. So we're hosting a number of webinars throughout the

[00:21:13] course of the rest of the year and into next year. So stay tuned if they sign it for our email

[00:21:19] list. You'll get all that information on when those are happening and what those opportunities

[00:21:23] are. And I think, you know, the other thing is to start conversations. You know, one of the ways

[00:21:28] we're really going to make change in our system is, and start to see cracks in our system, which we

[00:21:33] already are, is for people to tell them again, tell their story. And have a conversation about those

[00:21:38] issues, which may feel more taboo to some than others. And I think sharing our stories as women,

[00:21:44] normalizing those stories between us as women, I think really helps just start the conversation

[00:21:50] and the more conversation that's happening at the ground swell level, the more attention

[00:21:54] that will be brought to this over time. The pack launched in May, and I had the pleasure of attending

[00:22:04] that launch. A small group of legislators attended and spoke to the group. I asked Liz about

[00:22:11] the importance of those individuals participation. I think it's really important that we have

[00:22:17] congressional interest and support in our efforts and that it's bipartisan. And so we had five

[00:22:22] members come both sides of the aisle and all talking very passionately about women's health,

[00:22:28] and how this really does need to become a national priority. So that unity is really important.

[00:22:33] And it's important I think for advocates and those that are joining this movement and joining our

[00:22:37] pack to see that connectivity. And just to add to ways to get involved, it's super important to

[00:22:44] share those stories, get your friends engaged, join the pack, just sign up for our list, find out

[00:22:49] about our events. We've got committees that are active as well, whether it's a political committee

[00:22:54] that I am running. We've got strategic partnerships, marketing, fundraising. There's lots of ways

[00:22:59] to contribute and with these events, it takes a real team to plan these events. So there's lots

[00:23:05] of ways to help with those events. And then just make sure you're registered to vote, right?

[00:23:11] Get your friends to vote. You've got to vote and make women's health the reason that you're voting

[00:23:15] and talk to your friends about that, make it clear. And then your members are Congress,

[00:23:19] go see them and very politely point out, hey, you know, women's health is really important to me.

[00:23:24] What do you think about that? What are you doing on women's health or more specifically? What about

[00:23:28] maternal health, heart disease, cancer, can you share your thoughts and policies that you're

[00:23:34] going to work on? Just asking those questions brings it to the front of mind for those members.

[00:23:40] And they are all in election mode, right? So they are really want to be listening to their

[00:23:44] constituents. So there's so many ways to have impact. And then finally, I'll say,

[00:23:48] op-eds, right? Op-eds to your local paper. Talk about menopause, talk about whatever health

[00:23:53] issue is of concern to you. All these different efforts, plus social media, they really elevate

[00:23:58] this and it shows that this is the time. This is not just a moment. This is a movement. And

[00:24:04] together, this pack is turning into a mandate for change. I know that you guys just started and

[00:24:10] have done so much in such a little time. But have there been any wins? Have you seen any successes

[00:24:16] just because this pack has been created? Yeah, I mean, I think the success I would point to

[00:24:24] is really the mobilization, right? The how fast this ecosystem has mobilized around what we're

[00:24:31] trying to do here and coalesced really around our work together. And I think that is a win

[00:24:39] because it just demonstrates I would say the pent-up need a desire and passion for those

[00:24:44] who are in this space to want to see change. We are seeing wins across the board.

[00:24:51] The continuum that I think about is again, this research at the beginning, regulation

[00:24:55] in the middle and then reimbursement at the end. Sure. And Liz, what do you see as some of the

[00:25:01] challenges, either that you are seeing now or that you anticipate? Many challenges. Unfortunately,

[00:25:09] I try to speak with realism and this whole effort and hope. So we're seeing some changes,

[00:25:17] so let's hold on to that. But it's a real process. I mean the way our whole government is designed

[00:25:22] by structure is to move slowly. It's going to take a while. The one thing I will say,

[00:25:31] the annual appropriations process where they come up with those top lines of what they're

[00:25:36] going to fund for all the different agencies and different programs. There, we're seeing changes

[00:25:41] every year and we're working hard to shape that around women's health. Like a greater recognition,

[00:25:46] just within military, for example, that it's the fastest growing population within the military.

[00:25:50] Are women? Therefore we have to have not just women's health research, but we have to have

[00:25:54] women's health care that's like available and meeting their needs and the different ways

[00:25:59] injuries happen in women, for example, access to contraception. Like there's all kinds of aspects.

[00:26:03] So we are seeing language and some funding directives in those appropriations bills.

[00:26:09] So those kinds of changes you can see each year happen. But the bigger changes, like there was

[00:26:15] a great new bill that Senator Patty Murray, who's the chair of the appropriations committee

[00:26:19] in the Senate introduced in a bipartisan fashion. She had basically all the women senators together,

[00:26:25] Democrats or Republicans, one of the big champions is Susan Collins, for example,

[00:26:31] who's a great Republican, really forceful on women's health. They all came together and they said

[00:26:36] we've got to do legislation on menopause. We've got to do more research. We've got to do more

[00:26:40] public awareness. We've got to make sure doctors are trained on symptoms and things that can be

[00:26:46] done when a patient is expressing some concerns. And so that legislation was introduced. They had

[00:27:00] a lot and because we're coming up in the end of this congressional sessions, they'll have to

[00:27:05] start all over in January. However, because she's chair of the appropriations committee, she did put

[00:27:10] in menopause language into the Senate version of the health funding bill. So the big bill won't

[00:27:17] probably happen for another year or two but small pieces of it were seen in that appropriations bill.

[00:27:23] So it's a long-winded way of answering that there's there are challenges and just how structurally

[00:27:29] government is set up. But there are ways to get little successes and so so that's where that's where we work.

[00:27:36] You all are focused specifically on federal candidates. At this point, yes. Right. And so

[00:27:46] talk a little bit about and I'll give us to Liz and certainly Jodie engage as well.

[00:27:54] The impact of the federal legislation and the role of state legislation just again because we're

[00:28:02] in this voting season. We're to state impact this issue in comparison with federal legislation.

[00:28:11] Yeah, a good question because the two interact and are really key to meaningful advancement

[00:28:17] of women's health. And I think a good place to start is what does the state,

[00:28:24] do they have mandates on coverage for certain services in women's health? Whether it's the

[00:28:28] diagnostic screening side or the treatment side, is there even like a woman's health task force or

[00:28:34] some women's health committee within the department of health for the state? And also how can

[00:28:41] you get involved in that, right? They must have public meetings so you want to shape that. You

[00:28:47] activity in the state. So I do think that there is definite ways to look for engagement and

[00:28:53] indication of dedication to women's health on that state level and then talk to your state

[00:28:57] legislators even if they just hold hearings addressing some of these issues. That raises a lot of

[00:29:02] awareness, you get media coverage. So there are different things that can be done state level,

[00:29:06] not just federal level. Sure. And so we're going to start wrapping up and I want to make sure

[00:29:13] that we leave folks with information that you feel is important, not only to engage with the

[00:29:22] pack but other ways and lose you just mention some others as well. But what would you have folks

[00:29:28] do in the next 30 days? Make sure your registered vote and your friends are registered to vote

[00:29:35] and your colleagues at work and people in your universe are registered to vote. You would be amazed

[00:29:41] at how time flies by and suddenly there's a cut off and you can't register anymore. So number one,

[00:29:45] make sure that number two, if you're going to be busy on election day then apply for that absentee

[00:29:50] belt, nothing wrong with that in certain states like Nevada for the first time ever they're actually

[00:29:55] mailing ballots to every single voter. So that's really going to shift what happens on election day

[00:29:59] because what happens on election day is all about GOTV get out of the vote. Who gets out to vote?

[00:30:04] That determines who wins. So I'll you do all the polling in the world but it's actually who shows up

[00:30:08] on election day. So make sure you're registered get your ballot if you want to vote absentee

[00:30:12] or make plans to vote those types of things I think are super super important. Go to town halls

[00:30:17] they're going to be back home, end of September all the way through to election day looking for

[00:30:22] opportunities to interact with constituents. So go talk to them again in polite manner but point out

[00:30:27] gaps and women's health ask them what they're doing about it. What do they think about it? How can

[00:30:31] you work with them? Don't end with that. Who do I talk to on your staff? How do I work with you?

[00:30:35] Would you be interested in creating a women's health task force? Like there's all kinds of

[00:30:38] things you can nudge your member of Congress and state level two the state house too. So there's

[00:30:44] lots of things that you can do to keep nudging and elevating the profile of women's health. And then

[00:30:49] as I said earlier, opits, opits are great and they love local, local newspapers love opits so

[00:30:54] those are just a couple ideas. Thank you. I would I would add figure out find a community find a

[00:31:00] community if you're passionate about women's health find a community of other people and other

[00:31:04] men and women who are also passionate about women's health because I think just having that regular

[00:31:09] conversation and that regular sort of touch point of education perspective from opportunities to

[00:31:15] get involved it could be the pack, it could be you know a state level, it could be a local

[00:31:19] level there's lots of things happening especially in this election, this election is cycle

[00:31:23] and then I would say get smart on the candidates who who are the candidates in your market

[00:31:28] who are running for office what have they done on women's health what have they voted on in

[00:31:33] the past if they put any bills forward what is their stance on certain issues just so that you can also

[00:31:38] one understand you know if they if they work for you or not but all if you want to vote for them or not

[00:31:43] but also how to work with them like Elizabeth saying in the future but I think that starts with education.

[00:31:49] What did I not ask you that you think is important for listeners to know?

[00:31:55] I think that we are at an incredible opportunity where people are finally paying attention to women's health

[00:32:05] from all sectors and it's like we have everyone's attention and now we need to take action

[00:32:12] to make sure that's just not attention it's just not like oh that was interesting in 2024

[00:32:17] we have to really turn that into a constant drum beat in Congress among agencies whoever takes

[00:32:23] away house we have to be a constant drum beat constantly on their radar and shaping and influencing

[00:32:29] where they're directing funding and the policies that are impacting the health of women so my

[00:32:34] future vision is that we will have that impact that we're not going away that it's like we've now

[00:32:40] become this unstoppable force that is just going to keep going so I think we're going to see

[00:32:44] real change in 2025 and 2026 that is going to have meaningful impact on the health of women.

[00:32:52] Jody, new house or Liz Powell co-founders of the Women's Health Pack and so much more

[00:32:57] along with Candice McDonald who couldn't be with us today. Thank you so much for spending your time

[00:33:01] with us today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So I hope you see that the message is clear.

[00:33:22] The time for women's health is now and everyone has a role in shaping its future.

[00:33:28] One example is the Women's Health Pack which works through policy change, community engagement

[00:33:33] and strategic support of candidates who champion women's health and they aim to make this a

[00:33:39] movement not a moment. I also truly believe it's important to remember that change and vehicles

[00:33:45] like packs can only be impactful if you add your voice and your vote. I urge you to stay informed

[00:33:53] get involved and vote so we can close those gaps in women's health and register to vote if you

[00:33:59] have already done so. I invite you to go to our website at beyond the paperground.com where we

[00:34:05] have podcast on various women's health policy issues with more coming soon as well as resources

[00:34:12] to learn more about the issues as well as ways you can get involved and while you're there

[00:34:17] subscribe to our newsletter so you'll continue to be informed and updated. Thank you for spending

[00:34:23] your time with me today and take good care. Our podcast was produced by Patrick Shambayati and

[00:34:42] our associate producer is Kylamic Million.