Period poverty isn’t just an economic issue — it’s a medical one.

In Pennsylvania, and in the United States, physicians do not have the authority to prescribe menstrual products the same way they prescribe compression stockings, incontinence briefs, breast pumps, or diabetic supplies. Additionally, although menstrual products are recognized as a medical expense, Medicaid and private insurance companies still do not cover them.

What most people don't know is that menstruating individuals with medical conditions such as PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, adenomyosis, bleeding disorders, postpartum bleeding, miscarriage management, or those undergoing gender-affirming care often experience heavy or abnormal bleeding that requires significantly more menstrual products than the average patient. Yet, these patients are forced to pay out of pocket for medically necessary supplies because physicians cannot prescribe them, and Medicaid and private insurance plans do not cover them.

Menstrual products are already expensive, and the lack of prescription and insurance coverage makes them even more unaffordable and inaccessible for the patients who need them most, patients who are already experiencing economic struggles. This policy failure creates an unnecessary barrier to health care. While insurance companies routinely cover diagnoses, treatments, surgeries, medications, and recurring medical supplies, menstrual products are excluded from coverage and prescription, denying patients the necessary care they deserve. 

Pennsylvania has the power to correct this failure.  Federally, the Menstrual Equity Act for All, a bill introduced to Congress in 2025 by NY Rep. Grace Meng, aims to expand Medicaid and prescription access to menstrual products, but has not yet passed. Pennsylvania state legislators have already worked on expanding menstrual equity access through Senate Bill 612, but more action is needed. In a movement started by No More Secrets MBS, a non-profit organization focused on decreasing menstrual health disparities, we hope to advocate to move period poverty and menstrual inequality past a social justice issue into legislative action. Now, we urge legislators to incorporate two provisions into Senate Bill 612's PA Menstrual Equity Act: first, to give Pennsylvania physicians the authority to prescribe menstrual hygiene products when they are medically necessary, and second, to require Pennsylvania Medicaid and private insurance plans to cover those prescribed products. This effort is not simply about increasing access to menstrual products — it is about recognizing them as a medical necessity under physician-certified conditions.

By implementing these two policies into Senate Bill 612, Pennsylvania can reduce downstream health care costs through preventive care, remove an unnecessary barrier to treatment, help people stay in school and at work, and ensure that all menstruating individuals can manage their periods with dignity.