CHICAGO, IL — Illinois women are about to see a series of menopause-related changes take effect over the next few years, and a Chicago nonprofit is working to make sure they understand what is coming. The Menopause Collective says the new laws should help more people find reliable care, get workplace support and talk more openly about symptoms that can disrupt daily life.
The group was created by health professionals and advocates who say menopause and perimenopause are still widely misunderstood. They point to confusion about when symptoms begin, which doctors can help, and how seriously those symptoms can affect work, sleep and mood. The nonprofit is also using events, webinars and workplace talks to connect women with trusted information before the legal changes arrive.
A personal health gap helped inspire the nonprofit
Erin Cook, now a board member for The Menopause Collective, said she first ran into menopause-related symptoms while trying to manage a demanding career and family life. She was five months pregnant when she co-founded the staffing company Connect Search, and later began experiencing brain fog, mood swings, hot flashes and what she described as rage.
Cook said she did not immediately connect those symptoms to perimenopause. After the birth of her second child, the symptoms intensified around age 41, and she also was postpartum at the same time. She said she had believed menopause began around age 50, which is not true for everyone, and she felt she was not getting enough help from her OB-GYN. That experience pushed her to look for more specialized care.
Doctors say menopause education has lagged behind the need
Dr. Dana Russo, a functional medicine specialist focused on menopausal care, said her own medical training left her with only limited exposure to the topic. She said residency included only one or two hours of dedicated lectures on menopausal care, which was not enough to prepare her for the needs of patients seeking help with perimenopause and menopause.
Russo said she later sought additional education on her own so she could offer evidence-based care to women with these concerns. She and Cook both describe a broader gap in information, especially for women who are trying to figure out whether their symptoms are hormonal, where to go for treatment and how to get answers without being dismissed.
Workplace protections will expand starting in 2027
One of the biggest changes will affect Illinois workplaces. Beginning next year, employers will be required to put policies in place that mirror accommodations Cook already adopted at her own company, including temperature controls and flexible hours. The Illinois Menopause Equity and Care Act takes effect in 2027 and expands workplace protections for employees experiencing menopause-related conditions.
The law amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to include “menopause-related condition” among the conditions protected from unlawful discrimination. It also requires reasonable accommodations such as flexible scheduling, modified work hours and a temperature-adjusted workspace. Russo said that matters because menopause can involve more than hot flashes, including sleep loss, migraines, cognitive issues and mood changes that affect job performance.
Insurance coverage will broaden in 2028
The legislation does not stop with the workplace. In 2028, it will also widen insurance coverage in Illinois so that care extends to perimenopause rather than menopause alone. The law further adds coverage for medications used to treat menopause-related osteoporosis and for non-hormonal therapies aimed at vasomotor symptoms.
Advocates say that matters because many women do not seek treatment until symptoms become difficult to ignore, and by then they may need access to more than one kind of care. The expanded coverage is meant to make treatment more practical and more complete, especially for women who have been told for years that their symptoms are simply part of getting older and should be endured rather than addressed.
Medical schools will also be asked to teach more about menopause
A companion measure will add menopause education to medical school curricula, another step supporters say could help close the knowledge gap from the start of a physician’s career. Russo said the point is to bring menopausal care out of the shadows and make it part of mainstream medicine.
She said the new laws are important not only because they create protections, but because they highlight the educational gaps that still exist for doctors and the wider public. Foos, who co-founded The Menopause Collective with Russo, said many women are still trying to figure out which doctor can help them with symptoms. She said workplace shame and fear of judgment can also keep people from speaking up when they need support.
The Menopause Collective plans an October event in Chicago
To help women get ready for the changes, The Menopause Collective is hosting The Chicago Menopause Retreat on October 24. The event is designed to connect attendees with experts and resources related to menopause care, workplace concerns and symptom management.
Foos said the group wants women to see midlife as a stage with opportunities, not just limitations. Cook said better policies can make a real difference in how women function at work, especially when temperature, scheduling and cognitive symptoms are taken seriously. The nonprofit’s broader goal is to help women become stronger self-advocates as Illinois rolls out the new requirements.