Gail Menasco Spills the Tea on Patient Power and How Advocacy Moves Policy Forward

Welcome back to HITea With Grace, where we sip something warm and spotlight the voices reshaping healthcare. Today Grace is joined by Gail Menasco, founder of the Bra Society and a powerful advocate for women navigating breast reconstruction and broader healthcare challenges. Gail shares the personal cancer journey that led her into advocacy at just 38 years old and how it shaped her mission to empower patients with knowledge, resources, and support. The conversation explores her important work in Oregon and how policy efforts there aim to improve access and outcomes for women’s health. Gail also discusses the growing role of patient advocates in shaping policy, the evolving partnerships between clinicians, policymakers, and communities, and why collaboration is essential to closing long-standing gaps in care. Grace and Gail dig into the future of ACA subsidies, rising affordability concerns, and what weakened protections could mean for women and families. They also look at the widening gap between women’s health innovation and insurance coverage and the promising ideas emerging to bridge it. To close the episode, Gail shares what drives her, how she overcomes challenges, her advice for women in healthcare and health IT, and of course the tea she brought to the pod today. Settle in for an insightful and inspiring conversation on HITea With Grace.