Managing women’s chronic conditions is a win for members and margins

As health plans prepare their 2027 strategies, one pattern is increasingly hard to ignore: women represent the majority of healthcare spending with chronic conditions accounting for nearly 1/3. 

Roughly 60% of U.S. healthcare costs are incurred by women, about $2.1 trillion annually with an estimated $715 billion tied to chronic condition management.¹ Much of this spend stems from risks that surface years before they become clinically complex.

Yet most plans are still focusing women’s health benefits on maternity and family-building. This approach leaves predictable risk pathways unaddressed, despite preventive interventions being a proven lever to contain long-term costs.

Fragmentation drives costs

Heart disease, diabetes and other serious diseases rarely begin as acute events. For women, they often emerge through chronic conditions that signal future risk:

Without coordinated support, these conditions progress unchecked. Patients with the most fragmented care result in about $4,500 more in costs over 2–3 years, and potentially preventable hospitalizations account for $33 billion in annual hospital costs.2,3 

Holistic preventive care, monitoring, and treatment

Investing in preventive care across every stage of a woman’s life can reduce downstream costs and limit high-cost claims. The financial opportunity spans four critical dimensions:

  • Addressable spend: Much of the $715 billion spent annually on women’s chronic condition management comes from predictable, preventable risks.
  • Prevention impact: Preventive support like digital coaching, early screenings, and coordinated care plans can lower complications and reduce high-cost claims.
  • Avoided complexity: Monitoring health can slow disease progression, reducing the need for specialty drugs, inpatient admissions, and emergency visits.
  • Member retention: Proactive care demonstrates clinical sophistication, strengthening satisfaction and loyalty.

By moving to a lifespan-focused solution, health plans can better manage chronic conditions in women before they escalate in severity, improving both clinical outcomes and financial performance.

What to look for in a support solution

Shifting from a reactive response to proactive management requires three core capabilities:

  • Risk stratification across the spectrum: Use health history and behavioral data to identify rising-risk members early and intervene before high-cost complications develop.
  • Integrated data and actionability: Combine clinical, and member-reported data to generate real-time insights and trigger targeted preventive interventions.
  • Digital infrastructure: Deploy a scalable solution like Ovia Health by Labcorp that manages these tasks for your company, lifting the administrative burden, while supporting your members across their full health journeys.

Managing women’s health through disconnected programs leaves gaps in care and misses early warning signs of chronic conditions. A comprehensive life-stage strategy can identify risks early, enable prevention, and improve outcomes across the full health journey.

Connect with our team to explore how Ovia Health by Labcorp can help you reduce high-cost claims, boost engagement, and strengthen your competitive position.

References

  1. Ingeborg Investments. Investing in healthcare’s power users. Published 2025. Accessed Jan 28, 2026. link.
  2. Pham HH, Schrag D, O’Malley AJ, Wu B, Bach PB. Care fragmentation, quality, and costs among chronically ill patients. Am J Manag Care. 2015;21(5):355-362.
  3. McDermott KW, Jiang HJ. Characteristics and Costs of Potentially Preventable Inpatient Stays, 2017. HCUP Statistical Brief #259. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2020. Accessed Feb 13, 2026. link.