May 22, 2025 — In a recent Health Affairs Forefront essay, Maya Uppaluru Mechenbier of New America argues that the U.S. cannot improve women’s health outcomes without rebuilding trust between women and the systems meant to care for them.
She points to a cycle of neglect: underfunded research, fragmented policy, and dismissive care that too often leaves women told “we just don’t know” when they raise legitimate health concerns. That lack of trust, she writes, drives many toward misinformation and unverified “alternative” treatments.
Mechenbier calls for a new approach—one that follows women across life stages, from adolescence through menopause, and invests in preventive care that improves experience and outcomes. Pregnancy, she notes, is often a woman’s first major interaction with the health system, shaping her confidence in care for years to come.
The essay also highlights promising innovations in states such as New Jersey, California, and North Carolina, where Medicaid and state initiatives are expanding access to doula care, home visits, and social supports that address health beyond the clinic.
“We need to flip the paradigm from avoiding deaths and severe illness to improving experience, building trust, and investing in prevention,” Mechenbier writes. “Women and girls deserve to be treated with dignity and respect in their interactions with the health care system.”
Read More: Health Affairs Forefront: “To Improve Women’s Health, We Need To Rebuild Trust”