For too long, women were expected to simply push through menopause. Hot flashes, mood changes, poor sleep, brain fog, and changes in sexual health were often dismissed as something to endure – a routine part of getting older rather than concerns worth discussing with a doctor.
But menopause affects far more than how a woman feels day to day. It is a significant hormonal transition, and an important opportunity to take a closer look at overall health. Sleep, mood, bone health, and heart health can all be part of the conversation.
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Every woman’s experience is different. But no one should have to navigate those changes alone – or wonder whether what they are feeling is “normal.”
A more personalized, supportive approach to menopause
Women deserve clear information, time to ask questions, and care that considers the full picture. A thoughtful care plan may include a discussion of symptoms, screening needs, lifestyle changes, mental health, or treatment options such as hormone therapy. The right approach depends on the individual.
Too often, however, that care is difficult to find. A woman may raise sleep concerns with one doctor, mood changes with another, and questions about hormone therapy with someone else. Care works better when those conversations are connected and when women feel comfortable returning with new questions as their symptoms and needs evolve.
Menopause is a period of transition that requires a different kind of care. Across the health insurance industry, some carriers have introduced plans designed to support women through perimenopause and menopause. The idea is to bring related care needs together, with access to services like primary care, gynecology, behavioral health, preventive screenings, and prescription coverage designed for this stage of life.
Care that accounts for a person’s life stage reflects an important shift toward more accessible, coordinated, and personalized healthcare experiences instead of the industry standard of one-size-fits-all.
Menopause is an inevitable transition. But suffering through it does not have to be.
Dr. Bahar Sedarati, MD, is a board-certified physician executive and Market Medical Officer at Oscar, with more than two decades of experience across care delivery, health plans, and healthcare innovation. She provides clinical leadership across Oscar’s West, Central, and Texas markets, focusing on clinical performance, value-based care, and total cost of care. Nationally, she serves as a clinical leader for enterprise value capture and risk adjustment initiatives, providing strategic guidance and education to provider partners.
Dr. Sedarati also serves as an executive sponsor for mental health and well-being at Oscar. As creator of the Inner Edge, a modern and humanistic leadership model, she promotes emotionally intelligent leadership, psychological safety, and organizational cultures that support both patients and healthcare professionals.
Her vision is simple: care systems perform best when they are built around people, not just processes.
