Too many women face a “diagnostic odyssey” at the doctor’s office. This $20 billion plan could change things.

September 30, 2026 / 7:00 AM EDT / CBS News

Women live longer than men, but they also spend more time being sick. Why is that? One reason is that women's health has long been under-researched and underfunded.

According to research from Melinda French Gates' Pivotal, for every dollar spent globally on medical research and innovation, only 5 cents are spent on women's health.

The Society for Women's Health Research is trying to change that in the United States with a first-of-its-kind, $20 billion,10-year federal road map to improve the health of more than half of the population.

SWHR President and CEO Katie Schubert joined me on Healthful to explain the plan and discuss why funding research, education and training for doctors benefits not only women but the nation as a whole.

When the Society for Women's Health Research launched in 1989, only 13% of the National Institutes of Health's budget was for women's health. Now, that number is less than 10%.

"We need to make sure we're investing in the research itself," Schubert said. "We also are taking this a step further. It can't just be research dollars. We need to support the workforce in research and in clinical…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/healthwatch/