Five women’s health companies: what should you ask about care?

From federal attention to everyday care

The October 19, 2026 executive order directs NIH to establish a Women’s Health Division within 90 days. Its priorities include cardiovascular disease, maternal health, menopause and bringing research into clinical care. The order does not announce funding for these five companies.

Their work gives us a way to look at the medical details that matter when a woman uses a benefit, receives a result or starts treatment.

Sources: 1, 2

Read what the NIH announcement says and what happens next

1. Progyny: care beyond pregnancy

Progyny provides employer benefits for fertility, family building, pregnancy, postpartum care and menopause. What a benefit covers can affect whether a woman can reach the care she needs.

The medicine matters because pregnancy complications can remain relevant years later. Preeclampsia, other high blood pressure disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. That history belongs in the ongoing health record.

An increased risk is a reason to plan follow-up. Ask how obstetric care will connect with primary care, who will review blood pressure and blood sugar, and which visits or services your particular plan covers.

Sources: 3, 4

Why gestational diabetes still matters after pregnancy

2. Natera: understanding a prenatal screening result

Natera offers prenatal screening and genetic testing, alongside its cancer and organ-health businesses. Its cell-free DNA prenatal screening estimates the chance of certain chromosome conditions.

A screening result is not a diagnosis. A higher-risk result should lead to genetic counseling, ultrasound evaluation and the offer of diagnostic testing, such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis. A low-risk result does not rule out every condition.

Before testing, ask what the test can answer. Afterward, ask who will explain the result, what it means for this pregnancy and how any recommended follow-up will be arranged.

Sources: 5, 6

3. Myriad Genetics: turning inherited risk into a care plan

Myriad Genetics offers testing for inherited cancer risk, including breast and ovarian cancer. Some harmful changes in genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 increase cancer risk. Finding one does not mean a person has cancer or will definitely develop it.

The result may change when breast screening begins, whether breast MRI is recommended, which preventive options deserve discussion and whether relatives should consider testing. There is no effective ovarian cancer screening test, so ovarian risk may require a conversation about other ways to reduce risk.

The useful next step is an explanation of the specific result and a plan based on the gene, personal history and family history. Ask whether genetic counseling is included and who will coordinate that plan.

Sources: 7, 8

4. Astellas: menopause treatment and the monitoring it needs

Astellas makes Veozah (fezolinetant), a nonhormonal medicine for moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats due to menopause. It blocks a signaling pathway in the brain’s temperature-control system without replacing estrogen.

Veozah carries an FDA boxed warning about liver injury. Its prescribing information calls for liver blood tests before treatment, monthly for the first three months, and again at months six and nine.

Knowing how a treatment works also means knowing what monitoring comes with it. Before starting, ask whether it fits your medical history and other medicines, who will order the liver tests and who will review them with you.

Sources: 9, 10

5. Hims & Hers: access to menopause care

Hims & Hers Health offers online healthcare, including perimenopause and menopause care through Hers. An online visit can be another way to reach a clinician and discuss symptoms and treatment.

Menopause care should consider symptoms alongside medical history, medicines and individual risks. Midlife is also a useful time to discuss blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar, with testing based on what is appropriate for you.

I am interested in how online care connects with the rest of a woman’s healthcare. Ask how prescriptions and results will be shared with your usual clinician, when an in-person assessment is needed and whom to contact if symptoms change.

Sources: 11, 12, 13

Explore the HEART RESERVE midlife and menopause guides

Bring your history into the conversation

At HEART RESERVE, my focus is helping women bring their pregnancy history, bloodwork and questions into the same healthcare conversation. A useful result or prescription should come with an explanation you understand and a clear next step.

Write down the pregnancy complications you remember, your current medicines, recent results and the questions you want answered. You can use your Heart Story to organize these details, then save or print it for a visit.

Pregnancy history is heart history. This renewed attention is an opportunity to make that history easier to carry into care.

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