Each June, attention turns to two important health priorities: Men’s Health Month and Migraine and Headache Awareness Month, or MHAM. While headache and migraine are commonly associated with women, 1 in 10 men push through pain daily. The misconception that migraine is a woman’s disease often prevents men from seeking treatment. This month is an important opportunity to break the stigma around chronic pain in men. 

Every May, National Women’s Health Month encourages us to take a closer look at the issues shaping women’s health. One topic that deserves far more attention is headache and migraine disorders — a neurological condition that disproportionately affects women during their childbearing and working years and remains significantly underrecognized in women’s healthcare. By bringing migraine into the broader women’s health conversation more women can have access to screening and appropriate care.

More than 40 million Americans live with migraine and other headache disorders, making them among the most common—and most disabling—neurological conditions in the country. Yet despite their prevalence and profound impact on daily life, migraine and headache disorders are still routinely underdiagnosed, undertreated and dismissed as lifestyle issues rather than recognized as serious neurological diseases.

A new study led by the Headache & Migraine Policy Forum and recently published in the journal Headache quantifies the extent to which insurance barriers continue to limit access to effective migraine treatments. The study found that widespread “Payer Blocking,” whereby health plans delay and deny coverage for prescribed migraine therapies, severely disrupts care as the resulting misalignment between clinical guidelines and payer practices not only undermine patient outcomes but also increases costs across the health system. 

A new fixed-dosed combination therapy for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura was approved last month, offering another option for those who need relief. And another therapy is expected to enter the market next year.  

The Department of Defense is making history with a landmark $500 million annual investment. But it’s not for weapons or defense systems. It’s for women’s health research.

Navigating a maddening maze of phone menus and waiting endlessly on hold are enough to give anyone a headache. But for migraine patients and others whose symptoms are worsened by stress, struggling with their insurers’ automated call system may prolong real pain.