Menopause is having a moment at the California Legislature — lawmakers have filed two bills this year that would make care for symptoms more accessible.

One of those bills passed its first committee hearing on Tuesday. 

Bay Area Democratic Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan told lawmakers at the hearing her interest in the topic started with her own experience. 

“I spoke to my internist who said, ‘Oh, you’re fine.’ And then I spoke to my OBGYN who said, ‘Oh, we just suffer through this. Don’t worry. It sounds good.’ But I was having such brain fog that I was frightened that I had early onset Alzheimer’s,” she said. 

Now, she’s the author of Assembly Bill 432, a bill that would expand what treatment insurance companies are required to cover for people experiencing menopause symptoms. 

The bill is similar to one she authored last year. Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed it, saying it was too far reaching. 

Despite that, Bauer-Kahan made this bill more expansive — it would also call for the Medical Board of California to require many doctors to complete a continuing education course on menopause. 

Angela Hill, a legislative analyst with the California Medical Association, or CMA, spoke out against that piece of the bill at the hearing, saying physicians should be able to decide what courses are most relevant to them. 

“Menopause is a critical health issue and while CMA supports better training around menopause, we have consistently opposed condition specific CMA mandates, no matter how important the topic,” she said. 

Dr. Rajita Patel is the director of the Comprehensive Menopause Program at UCLA and spoke in favor of the bill at the hearing. 

“These symptoms when left untreated can lead to workplace absenteeism, presenteeism, strained relationships, diminished well-being, and actually can lead to chronic disease,” she said. 

The bill now heads to the assembly health committee. 

This isn’t the only menopause bill in California this year – San Mateo Democratic Assembly member Diane Papan also filed one that would require the state to report on the gaps in health provider education on menopause. That bill has already made it out of its first committee hearing and is on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Megan Myscofski is a statehouse/politics reporter at CapRadio. CapRadio is a partner of The Intersection and CVJC.