Employee Menopause Benefits: What One Public Employer’s Initiative Reveals
Most employers have no formal employee menopause benefits and their employees struggle to access care to manage the life stage. That gap contributes to more than $1.8 billion annually in lost productivity among U.S. businesses, according to a Mayo Clinic study. A Washington public employer, in partnership with Washington Health Alliance, decided they needed to take a close look at what was driving this.
Read the Full Case Study.
What WHA Brought to the Table
Washington Health Alliance helped identify the gap and took action. WHA approached a public employer member with a structured plan: four virtual sessions over six months, designed to destigmatize perimenopause and menopause, surface the real barriers employees face, and connect workers with high-quality care navigation.
WHA didn’t just convene the series. WHA designed it, recruited expert panelists from health plans and clinical specialists, met with employer staff before and after each session to review survey data, and refined the program in real time based on what employees shared.
That deliberate, consultative approach shows up in the results. The series drew 545 total registrations and 244 live attendees across four sessions. A quarter attended more than once, a sign of genuine engagement rather than one-time curiosity.
Comfort Discussing
Menopause & Perimenopause
Attendees rated their comfort level in live polls during Session 1 and Session 4. Attendance varied between sessions.
Where Employee Menopause Benefits Fall Short
The series surfaced specific gaps that HR and benefits teams can act on: symptom dismissal by providers, difficulty finding clinicians who specialize in menopause, confusion about hormone replacement therapy, and medications not covered by the health plan.
The comfort data tells its own story. At the start of the series, only 22% of attendees felt “very comfortable” discussing perimenopause and menopause at work. By the final session, that number reached 63%. Those who felt “not at all comfortable” dropped to zero. In the final session, 88% of respondents said their employer supported them.
These are fixable problems. The data gives employers a direct line to what their workforce actually needs from their employee menopause benefits package.
What Employers Can Do Now
This initiative is a model, not a one-time program. WHA built a replicable framework that any employer can adapt. Fifty-four percent of survey respondents said after the third session they were very likely to explore new benefits. That’s the clearest signal an employer can get that the conversation can change behavior.
Employers ready to close the menopause benefits gap can start by meeting with their health plans to review and remove coverage barriers, establishing peer support structures, and centralizing educational resources in an accessible format.
WHA stands ready to help. WHA brings together employers, health plans and clinical experts to surface what’s not working and build collaborative solutions. This initiative shows how that model generates real change for workers.
Want to learn more?
Reach out to our Director of Member Engagement — we’d love to connect with you or your organization.