Cutting corners on women’s healthcare is proving costly

According to a recent Mayo Clinic study, menopause costs the US economy $1.8 billion in lost productivity annually. When medical costs are taken into consideration, that amount increases to $26.6 billion. When the expenditures associated with lowered working hours, job loss, early retirement, or job switching are also included in, the final tab is probably even higher. According to studies by the consulting firm McKinsey, women spend more than a third of their lives in the peri- or post-menopause, and 1.2 billion women worldwide will go through these life stages by 2030.2 Despite the fact that over a million women in the US experience the menopause every year, the impacts on health are still not completely understood.