The women’s health conversation still has a migraine-sized gap

I’ve led congressional meetings, and national advocacy campaigns. I’ve also been sidelined for days at a time when a migraine attack made it impossible to read an email, follow a conversation or be fully present for my family.

That whiplash between capability and disability is familiar to millions of people living with migraine, especially women. That’s why as federal policymakers, women’s health advocates and researchers expand their focus on women’s health, there is a real opportunity to broaden how we define it to include migraine as a pivotal women’s health issue.

Migraine is a complex neurological disease and one of the leading causes of years lived with disability worldwide, and it is the leading cause of disability among young women globally, according to findings from the Global Burden of Disease study. Women are disproportionately affected, with migraine occurring two to three times more frequently in women than in men, and the burden is especially high during the prime working and caregiving years.

Migraine is also closely linked to hormonal changes, with many patients experiencing onset at puberty and changes in severity across menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause. It is a chronic condition that often begins in childhood and frequently runs in families. For some patients, migraine can progress over time from episodic to chronic disease, with increasing frequency and disability. Research has identified clear risk factors associated with this progression, most notably the failure to treat attacks and prevent new attacks from occurring.

That progression has real consequences, not just for individuals but for the workforce and the broader economy. When migraine becomes chronic, patients can lose the ability to consistently participate in work, school and daily life. We lose talent, stability, and productivity in ways that are largely invisible but deeply felt. If we care about women’s inclusion in the workplace, we have to care about migraine.

Largely absent

By any reasonable definition, this is a condition that sits squarely within women’s health. Yet, it is rarely treated that way in policy or practice.

This omission is especially striking at a moment when federal agencies, including HHS, are actively working to elevate women’s health as a national priority. The recent inaugural HHS National Conference on Women’s Health in March 2026 brought together patients, researchers, clinicians and policymakers to shape the future of women’s health research and care.

But even in these spaces, migraine remains largely absent. That absence reflects a broader pattern; migraine is not consistently included in the frameworks that guide women’s health priorities.

When migraine is excluded from the women’s health conversation, it is less likely to be reflected in research funding priorities, clinical training, and public health strategies. Patients often experience delays in diagnosis that can stretch for years. Access to care is shaped by insurance requirements such as step therapy and prior authorization, which can delay or limit appropriate treatment. Care continues to be constrained by the shortage of trained headache specialists.

These challenges are not new. But there are encouraging signs of progress.

In the 2026 federal appropriations report language, Congress recognized the impact of migraine and encouraged its inclusion in women’s preventive health efforts, including consideration within well-woman care. That is an important signal that migraine is beginning to be understood within the broader context of women’s health.

The HEADACHE act

Recognizing migraine as part of women’s health requires integrating migraine into the efforts already underway. That includes incorporating migraine screening into routine primary care and OB-GYN visits, particularly for adolescents and women navigating hormonal transitions. It means ensuring that federal research priorities reflect the role of migraine across the lifespan, including menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. It means strengthening data collection to better understand the population-level burden of migraine and its impact on education, employment, and quality of life. It means working with insurers to build on their stated commitment to reducing prior authorizations and ensuring that proven treatments for migraine are readily accessible to the patients who need them.

And it means advancing coordinated federal solutions, including legislation such as the HEADACHE Act, which has bipartisan support, to improve research, expand access to care, and strengthen the clinical workforce.

Migraine belongs in the women’s health conversation, not as an afterthought but as a condition that shapes the daily lives, health, and economic participation of millions of American women.

The next step is not simply to name migraine but to build it into the systems that shape women’s health, including screening, research, insurance coverage, education, workforce planning and federal policy.

Julienne Verdi, J.D., is executive director of the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy.