Only 31 per cent of US voters believe healthcare does a good job of meeting women’s needs, according to a national survey.

The survey found broad agreement that women have distinct health needs requiring specific attention, but that care falls short at several stages of life.

Impact Research and Echelon Insights conducted the survey for Center Forward among 1,206 registered voters in the likely electorate across the US.

Tara Evans, marketing director for Plan B One-Step, said: “These findings should serve as a wake-up call for the health care industry and for policymakers.

“Women are telling us loudly and clearly that the system is not working for them. From reproductive health to menopause care to postpartum support, the gaps are real, they are significant, and voters want action.”

Only 31 per cent of respondents said the healthcare system did a good or very good job of meeting women’s health needs.

This compared with 41 per cent who said it performed well in meeting men’s health needs.

Half of the women surveyed said the system did not pay enough attention to their health issues.

Some 41 per cent rated the system as poor or very poor at meeting women’s needs immediately before, during and after menopause.

A further 38 per cent gave the same rating for care following pregnancy and during the postpartum period.

The figure was 35 per cent for care provided while women were seeking to prevent pregnancy.

Overall, 92 per cent agreed that women have distinct health needs deserving specific attention, including 89 per cent of Republicans and 95 per cent of Democrats.

Access to screening for cancers affecting women was considered very important for policymakers to address by 81 per cent of respondents.

Prenatal care was prioritised by 78 per cent, while 77 per cent highlighted both gynaecological care and cardiovascular services.

Postpartum care was considered very important by 72 per cent, while 68 per cent said the same about diabetes and weight management services.

Some 46 per cent of voters said the healthcare system did a poor or very poor job of meeting the needs of rural patients.

Rural women were six percentage points more likely than voters overall to report difficulty accessing quality care.

The findings also showed that gaps in care were not evenly distributed.

Women who described their health as fair or poor were 15 percentage points more likely than those in excellent or very good health to say the system paid too little attention to their needs.

People earning less than US$50,000 a year were among those most likely to feel overlooked.

Among voters earning between US$30,000 and US$49,000 annually, 61 per cent said the system did not pay enough attention to their health issues.

Evans said: “The picture this data paints is one of a system that works better for some Americans than others, and women, particularly those with lower incomes or in rural communities, are bearing the greatest burden of that failure.

“Plan B is committed to being part of the solution by ensuring that at the very minimum, women have access to emergency contraception when they need it.”

Plan B One-Step is an over-the-counter emergency contraceptive available in all 50 US states without identification or a prescription.

The company says it donates up to 500,000 units each year to clinics, non-profit organisations, advocacy groups and other qualifying organisations supporting medically underserved communities.

The survey was conducted from 12 to 16 January 2026 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

Plan B One-Step is a backup form of birth control intended to help prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex or when another contraceptive method fails.

It is not an abortion pill and does not affect implantation or harm an existing pregnancy.

Emergency contraception such as Plan B is used within 72 hours of unprotected sex and works better the sooner it is taken.

The findings form part of the 2026 Women’s Health Mandate, a five-part bipartisan series examining women’s healthcare in the US.

A new reporting tool built specifically for obstetrics and maternal-fetal medicine has launched, aimed at teams managing increasingly complex pregnancies with limited time and resources.

Trice Imaging has released Trice Workspace Reporting, which connects imaging, reporting and longitudinal patient data in a single workflow to support faster clinical decision making.

Birth rates are falling worldwide, but pregnancies are getting more complicated. Advanced maternal age, IVF-assisted pregnancies, rising obesity rates and a higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mean more cases now require specialist monitoring, advanced imaging and multidisciplinary care.

At the same time, clinical teams are stretched and facing growing administrative demands.

Trice Workspace Reporting brings together customisable reporting, dynamic pregnancy dating and longitudinal patient history with an AI-ready, EHR-interoperable infrastructure, all inside the company’s Tricefy image management platform.

The company says it aims to accelerate standardised and synchronised report turnaround, support timely clinical decisions and improve operational efficiency for fetal medicine services.

“Maternal fetal medicine teams are managing increasingly complex pregnancies while being asked to do more with limited time and resources,” said Mark A. Samii, chief revenue officer at Trice Imaging.

“Trice Workspace Reporting is designed to remove unnecessary friction from reporting by creating a structured digital foundation that supports today’s need for connected clinical workflows.

“It also provides a digital foundation as practices prepare for tomorrow and the evolution of AI-enabled fetal assessment, anomaly detection and outcome prediction technologies.”

Trice Imaging describes its mission as transforming the women’s health journey by connecting physicians, patients and healthcare systems. From independent practices to large hospital ecosystems, it aims to reach the entire women’s health continuum, spanning IVF and reproductive health, maternal-fetal medicine and OB/GYN, and onwards to lifelong women’s health.

For more than 17 years the firm has worked on cloud-based storage, retrieval, display, organisation and exchange of ultrasound medical images and associated information across health environments.

Its wider platform now extends to dynamic clinical reporting, AI-driven workflow optimisation, data analytics and secure patient engagement.

Trice Imaging holds regulatory and data protection clearances in 40 countries. It has offices in Miami and Stockholm, alongside a growing network of global distributors.

Vespexx, the femtech company behind couples preconception health platform Soonr, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Femtech Across Borders, a global femtech network supporting women’s health initiatives across 80 countries.

The agreement was signed on June 30 at Korea Femtech Summit 2026, the first global femtech summit held in Korea, hosted by Vespexx.

Femtech Across Borders is a global femtech community led by founder Rachel Bartholomew, who entered the field after her own battle with cervical cancer.

The organisation connects women’s health innovators, companies, and institutions worldwide, supporting collaboration across borders.

“For Korean femtech to reach the world, connection with the global community matters more than anything,” said Scarlett Joowon Jung, co-CEO of Vespexx.

“Through our collaboration with Femtech Across Borders, we’ll continue to strengthen our role as a bridge between Korea and the global femtech community.”

Through the MOU, the two parties will work to lower the barriers between Korean and global femtech, raising awareness of women’s health, sharing networks, and exploring future opportunities to collaborate.

Vespexx, in particular, intends to serve as a bridge connecting Korean femtech companies with the global community, widening the path for domestic companies to reach international markets.

The agreement builds on Vespexx’s recent global momentum.

On June 30, the company hosted Korea Femtech Summit 2026, bringing together femtech leaders from Korea and abroad, and used the occasion to announce the launch of Femtech Korea, an industry network that brings Korean femtech companies together and connects them with the world.

The partnership with Femtech Across Borders extends that effort outward, linking Korea’s domestic network to the global community.

Learn more about Vespexx at vespexx.com