Women face a ‘health cost gap’, spending on average £100 more a year on medical-related expenses than men, with the cost of fertility, menopause and menstrual health support a particular burden, research has suggested.
A survey of 3,156 men and women for consultancy Deloitte concluded women make more ‘out-of-pocket’ medical purchases than men. These are expenses out of their own money that may then be later reimbursed by their employer, perhaps through a health cash plan, for example.
Out of the women surveyed, 52% said they made extra out-of-pocket expenses on health per year, versus only 39% of men.
Common expenses in this context included medical diagnostics and wearables (for example glucose monitors and health and exercise monitors). Private counselling and mental health support was another key area of spend.
General healthcare (for example, spending on dental, physiotherapy, pain support or private GPs) was a further common medical expense for women. The cost of fertility, menopause and menstrual health, however, added significantly to the financial burden faced by women.
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This so-called ‘health cost gap’ meant women were spending up to 2.5 times more on fertility, menopause and menstrual health, as well as consistently more on other healthcare categories, Deloitte argued.
Women were spending 10% more on medical diagnostics and wearables, almost 25% more on private counselling or other mental health support, and 25% more on general healthcare.
Perhaps, unsurprisingly, the biggest gap was fertility, menopause and menstrual health, where women spent 250% more than men on average.
There was also a noticeable difference between men and women when it came to awareness of whether their workplace offers women’s health benefits. Women were more aware if their workplace did not offer any benefits, with 36% of women responding versus 18% of men.
A higher percentage of men (40%) said they do not know if their workplace offered women’s health benefits, versus only 17% of women.
Higher numbers of female respondents were also more attracted to companies that visibly invested in women’s health. A total of 60% of women said they were more attracted to join companies that invest in women’s health benefits. This was significantly more than men, where only 31% agreed.
The report recommended that healthcare providers update their medical education curriculum to be more comprehensive in covering the whole life cycle of women’s health.
Healthcare professionals needed to be upskilling to increase their awareness of specific women’s health conditions, it added.
For health insurers, it was important to be ensuring treatment for pre-existing medical conditions relating to women’s health (for example endometriosis) is covered by their policies.
For employers, meanwhile, it needed to be about creating women-friendly working environments by understanding the needs of different demographics of working women.
Employers also needed to be offering women-specific benefits (for example fertility and pregnancy, bereavement for miscarriage, menopause and so on), Deloitte recommended.
Liz Hampson, consulting partner and head of Deloitte’s European Health Equity Institute, said: “Women spend significantly more treating ongoing poor health, or seeking out specialist treatment at their own cost, contributing to a higher overall out-of-pocket spend.
“This ‘health cost gap’ which exists can be attributed to a variety of reasons, including being misdiagnosed more and incidents of pain ‘taken less seriously’ in the healthcare system, underinvestment in women’s health services and underrepresentation of women in medical research.
“Addressing gender-based disparities in health requires a collaborative approach – something that requires investors, healthcare providers, policy makers, life sciences companies and employers to take action on.
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“Supporting women’s health is not only important for society, but a sound investment in the future of the workforce and overall economy,” Hampson added.
