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A secret shopper study reveals that Medicaid-insured patients are significantly less likely to be offered appointments with certified menopause specialists than those with private insurance. Researchers contacted 216 Menopause Society Certified Practitioners and found stark disparities — and widespread access problems regardless of insurance type. The findings are raising questions about the reliability of the Society's own practitioner database.
A new secret shopper study presented at The Menopause Society 2026 Annual Meeting in San Diego found that Medicaid patients face significant barriers when trying to book appointments with certified menopause specialists. Trained assistants called 216 Menopause Society Certified Practitioners twice — once posing as a Medicaid patient and once as a privately insured patient — and the results were striking.
Access problems ran deep across the board. A full 40% of practitioners were unreachable after three to six attempts, and no appointment was offered to either caller at 39% of practices. Among those that did offer appointments, the median wait time was 40 days — stretching to nearly 69 days at practices that accepted both insurance types.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: These findings expose a two-tiered system in menopause care, where insurance type — not medical need — determines access. Experts are calling on The Menopause Society to overhaul its practitioner database, which is marketed as a go-to resource for evidence-based menopause care but may be giving patients false confidence in its reliability.
