Bill to educate Virginia women about menstrual disorders passes unanimously

Virginia lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to educate and inform the public about menstrual disorders. 

House Bill 1918, introduced by Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling, D-Henrico, establishes a women's menstrual health program that will direct the Virginia Department of Health to educate and train hospital staff and health care providers on menstrual health disorders. Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, worked with Bolling as the chief co-patron on the bill. 

A menstrual disorder is defined as a menstruation-related disorder or condition, and includes endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, according to the bill. 

These are often painful conditions that result in irregular periods, infertility issues, depression and more, according to the World Health Organization. Approximately 10% of women globally experience endometriosis and an estimated six to 13% have PCOS. 

More than half of women with PCOS remain undiagnosed, according to the maternal-focused nonprofit Birth In Color RVA.

“There are so many women that are late diagnosed and could have been saved years and years of pain and agony if only they had known sooner and gotten more information,” Price told the House Health subcommittee panel on Jan. 21.

Menstrual health is a vital yet often overlooked aspect of public health, Bolling told the panel. 

"This piece of legislation establishes a women’s menstrual health program which is a critical step forward in addressing menstrual health and the associated conditions that impact countless Virginians," Bolling said. 

The bill as introduced required the department to work with health care providers to identify and provide screenings and any necessary treatment, follow-up care and referrals to patients who have displayed symptoms related to menstrual disorders. 

Additionally, the Health commissioner would have collected information on patients who were screened for menstrual disorders, to ensure patients received correct follow-up care, appropriate referrals and to evaluate the treatments and screenings. 

The House agreed to the Appropriations Committee substitute, which removed most of the treatment and screening language from the bill.

Bolling was willing to make some changes to “make the bill a little cheaper,” she said. 

Birth In Color RVA lobbied legislators about the importance of the bill, and encouraged people to speak to their own legislators, according to executive director and founder Kenda Sutton-El. 

“I believe that it will bring more awareness to these issues, it will have people talking about it, and it will have providers getting educated about it,” Sutton-El said. 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists supports the bill because “there's a gap in what providers would consider to be normal menstrual cycles, and what a lot of women face as part of their menstrual cycle,” according to its Virginia legislative representative, Dr. Amy Nelson. 

VDH will follow the best practices and guidelines recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or any other nationally recognized organization, according to the bill. 

The department would need additional resources to provide training stipends for trainers, pay for webinar platforms, develop webpages, and create online educational content, according to the bills fiscal impact statement.

“The legislation didn’t include any additional funding but the Department of Health said that they think they can absorb the cost of these materials,” Nelson said. “Mainly because they’re going to post them online, as opposed to having a lot of printed material.”

The department estimates that existing full-time employees would devote 25% of their time to developing the educational materials during the first year, according to the bill's fiscal impact statement. 

“I think the biggest impact this program will have is hopefully educating women that they don't have to continue to suffer,” Nelson said. 

The bipartisan support for the bill is a step towards the General Assembly's efforts to improve women’s health, something Democrats and Republicans stated was a priority this session.