As Washington considers which virtual care flexibilities should remain in place post-COVID-19, experts are flagging that paring back telehealth access and affordability will disproportionately affect women, even as a growing share of startups emerge to address women’s unique health needs.
While women are more likely than men to visit doctors and consume healthcare services in general, telehealth seems to be uniquely attractive to women.
The time savings and convenience of virtual care are especially helpful for caregivers, a historically female role, and the pandemic has seen a large number of caregivers using virtual care to triage needs for their loved ones — and themselves, experts say.
