September 19, 2025 • 9 mins
Dr. Susan J. Blumenthal has been at the forefront of women’s health for 30 years. Having served under four US presidents, she achieved the rank of Rear Admiral (Ret.) with the US Public Health Service, is the former Assistant Surgeon General, and was the nation's first-ever Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health. She currently works as a visiting professor with the MIT Media Lab.
Dr. Blumenthal discusses the changing landscape for women’s health, and key research within the field, with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and
Tim Steneveek on Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
It is time now for the Bloomberg BusinessWeek Women's Health segment,
where we focus on key issues and developing technologies that
are impacting the president and future of women's health around
the world. On that, over the summer, we saw the
Gates Foundation announce a two and a half billion dollar
commitment through twenty thirty to accelerate R and D focused
exclusively on women's health, and then earlier this month, Linda
(00:36):
Gates announced a new partnership that will commit one hundred
million dollars to accelerate women's health research. She's focusing on
areas of women's health with the highest rates of mortality.
That includes autoimmune disease, mental health, and cardiovascular health. So
we've got a great guest to talk about all of this.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
We've got a doctor, Susan J. Blumenthal and joining us.
She's retired Rear Admiral, former US Assistant surch In General
and the first ever Deputy Assistant Second Terry for women's health.
She's also visiting professor with the MIT media app. She
joins us from Washington, DC this afternoon, Doctor Blumenthal, Carol
just mentioned some of the money that's going to women's
health issues around the globe. I think I know the
(01:13):
answer to this question before I even ask it. Is
it enough?
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Well, no, but it's it's excellent that new investments and
innovations are coming to bear on women's health. Women represent
fifty one percent of the population, they make eighty percent
of the health care decisions. But their health has been traditionally,
you know, underfunded and underinnovated, and so we hope to
turn the page here in the twenty first century.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Are you hopeful that that actually happens, because I feel
like this is I let right, we laugh, But it's
not even I think about it, not funny like women's
issues have been underfunded, undercovered. I have doctors in the family,
both women. We talk about this. They see it, we
see it. I see it. I have a daughter. It's
just when it comes to women health issues, it just
(02:01):
feels like they had been ignored for a long time.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, let's you know, kind of backtrack.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Let me tell you a story about how we got
involved with women's health. I mean, when I was a child,
my mother had cancer, and I decided to become a
doctor to no other woman should have to suffer the
way she did.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I was very honored to work at the National Institutes of.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Health for twelve years and there helped to expose the
inequities that existed that women had been excluded from research
studies on heart disease, on AIDS, on lung cancer, sex matters.
We all know that, but in the conduct of research
and the delivery of health care services, women had been
excluded as a target as a focus. So as the
(02:45):
first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health, we really shown
a spotlight on these issues. We wove a focus on
women's health into the fabric of NIH, CDC, FDA, because
then there were no women's health conferences, there were no reports,
there were no fellowship and there were no centers, and
so the study of women's health and sex differences became
(03:07):
a forefront issue in the nineties, but then got mainstreamed,
and I think, you know, there were still so many
other issues that needed to be addressed.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
We built the infrastructure, but the.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Innovation you needed to continue, and that's what I hope
is happening now here in the twenty first century, because
we're bringing a whole.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
New twol box to the fight for better women's health.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Well, Carol mentioned what Melinda Gates has announced, the idea
of sending money toward the highest rates of mortality, autoimmune disease,
mental health, and cardiovascular health. One area that we wanted
to focus on this afternoon is mortality when it comes
to pregnancy and when it comes to childbirth, maternal mortality,
and the CDC said that improving maternal health care is
one of its new priorities. They've hosted this document last night.
(03:56):
What are the biggest areas for improvement there? How does
the US solve that?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Well, I think maternal health.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
I mean, it is shocking that in the United States
we have the highest maternal mortality rates in the industrialized.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Why why is it that? Why is that? In your view?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Well, I think.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Again, because there are there are a number of issues
that go under reported. There is diversity in communities. Women
are not having the same access to care and are
not you know, there is no education for both the
woman and her healthcare provider about the signs and symptoms
(04:34):
to be looking for. So I hope that this will change.
We need to do much better education and targeted education.
We now have new communication methods that need to reach
personalize information to individual women, and with technology, we'll be
able to access care in more rural or underserved areas.
(04:54):
For example, ultrasounds small miniature ultrasounds that can be taken
into communities in underserved areas and then with telehealth wire
it back to a physician to interpret it. And some
of the breakthrough technologies that are underway are too For example,
do a pinprick to get some blood to look for
(05:17):
pre acclamsia, which is associated with hypertension that can cause
the death in mothers. So I think, you know, there's
a lot of work to do, but there's also a
lot of innovation that can be brought to this.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Space, Doctor Blumenthal.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
One thing I wanted to ask you the CDC's vaccine
meeting happening today and tomorrow, Just curious. One of the
things that's being discussed is changing the hepatitis B vaccine
recommendations for newborns and screening all women for hepatitis B.
What do you think of this, I'm just curious about it.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Well, I'm very concerned as public health doctor. I think
that you know, if you think about it. One hundred
and fifty years ago, average life expectancy was thirty eight.
We've doubled life expectancy in this century. In the year
nineteen hundred, eighteen percent of children died before the fifth birthday.
Vaccines and other public health interventions were major contributors were
(06:13):
landmark contributors to this extended lifespan. A generation has grown
up not seeing the devastation of polio, smallpox, diphtheria, and
so disinformation is circulating. Hepatitis saves vaccines have seend twenty
thousand babies, and so I think it's very, very irresponsible
(06:40):
to be changing these guidelines when we know that vaccines
save lives.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
What does this look like if the guidelines are changed,
How does it manifest itself in public health? Do we
see immediately a spike in things in your view that
could be prevented through vaccines.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Well, we've seen a spike in, for example, measles. We've
seen our highest rates measles that we've seen decades. Measles
can cause disability and can cause death. I think there
have been two or three children that have already died,
so I think in the past week. So yes, I
mean I think we will. And again for measles, you
(07:17):
need to have ninety five percent of children vaccinated for
her immunity, so that you're protecting everyone in the community.
You know, right now there's been a study that showed
that one out of six parents is questioning whether to
follow the vaccination's schedule. So again, disinformation is circulating and
(07:39):
people are getting very confused. If we don't have our
major public health agencies consistent in their guidelines, then it's
up to the states to create their own recommendations. For example,
in my state of Massachusetts, our governor has said that
anybody who wants a vaccine will be able to get it,
(08:00):
and that insurance companies need to pay for those vaccines
because again under the Affordable Care Act, in the Preventive
Services guidelines, vaccines were covered under your insurance as a
free provole of service.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
This may change.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
If the guidelines change, means that vaccines will cost people money,
and that will be an obstacle to getting you or
your child vaccinated.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Doctor bluemyth thought, before you go, life threatening and very important.
Before you go, we've just got thirty seconds. Your family
involved in public service, your husband's still in it, Senator
Ed Markey. Of course you were in it for a
long time. What do you hear what it's like to
be in public service now considering some of the attacks
(08:48):
that we've seen, it feels like from various groups and entities.
And just got about twenty seconds.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Well, it's an honor to serve and sadly I think
you know it's it's a challenging time, but to be
able to give back to your country, UH is extremely meaningful.
And just to end this with women's health, when we're
improving women's health means improving the health of families, of
communities and a country.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
H
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and
Tim Steneveek on Bloomberg Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
It is time now for the Bloomberg BusinessWeek Women's Health segment,
where we focus on key issues and developing technologies that
are impacting the president and future of women's health around
the world. On that, over the summer, we saw the
Gates Foundation announce a two and a half billion dollar
commitment through twenty thirty to accelerate R and D focused
exclusively on women's health, and then earlier this month, Linda
(00:36):
Gates announced a new partnership that will commit one hundred
million dollars to accelerate women's health research. She's focusing on
areas of women's health with the highest rates of mortality.
That includes autoimmune disease, mental health, and cardiovascular health. So
we've got a great guest to talk about all of this.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
We've got a doctor, Susan J. Blumenthal and joining us.
She's retired Rear Admiral, former US Assistant surch In General
and the first ever Deputy Assistant Second Terry for women's health.
She's also visiting professor with the MIT media app. She
joins us from Washington, DC this afternoon, Doctor Blumenthal, Carol
just mentioned some of the money that's going to women's
health issues around the globe. I think I know the
(01:13):
answer to this question before I even ask it. Is
it enough?
Speaker 4 (01:17):
Well, no, but it's it's excellent that new investments and
innovations are coming to bear on women's health. Women represent
fifty one percent of the population, they make eighty percent
of the health care decisions. But their health has been traditionally,
you know, underfunded and underinnovated, and so we hope to
turn the page here in the twenty first century.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Are you hopeful that that actually happens, because I feel
like this is I let right, we laugh, But it's
not even I think about it, not funny like women's
issues have been underfunded, undercovered. I have doctors in the family,
both women. We talk about this. They see it, we
see it. I see it. I have a daughter. It's
just when it comes to women health issues, it just
(02:01):
feels like they had been ignored for a long time.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, let's you know, kind of backtrack.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Let me tell you a story about how we got
involved with women's health. I mean, when I was a child,
my mother had cancer, and I decided to become a
doctor to no other woman should have to suffer the
way she did.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
I was very honored to work at the National Institutes of.
Speaker 4 (02:24):
Health for twelve years and there helped to expose the
inequities that existed that women had been excluded from research
studies on heart disease, on AIDS, on lung cancer, sex matters.
We all know that, but in the conduct of research
and the delivery of health care services, women had been
excluded as a target as a focus. So as the
(02:45):
first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women's Health, we really shown
a spotlight on these issues. We wove a focus on
women's health into the fabric of NIH, CDC, FDA, because
then there were no women's health conferences, there were no reports,
there were no fellowship and there were no centers, and
so the study of women's health and sex differences became
(03:07):
a forefront issue in the nineties, but then got mainstreamed,
and I think, you know, there were still so many
other issues that needed to be addressed.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
We built the infrastructure, but the.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Innovation you needed to continue, and that's what I hope
is happening now here in the twenty first century, because
we're bringing a whole.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
New twol box to the fight for better women's health.
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Well, Carol mentioned what Melinda Gates has announced, the idea
of sending money toward the highest rates of mortality, autoimmune disease,
mental health, and cardiovascular health. One area that we wanted
to focus on this afternoon is mortality when it comes
to pregnancy and when it comes to childbirth, maternal mortality,
and the CDC said that improving maternal health care is
one of its new priorities. They've hosted this document last night.
(03:56):
What are the biggest areas for improvement there? How does
the US solve that?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Well, I think maternal health.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
I mean, it is shocking that in the United States
we have the highest maternal mortality rates in the industrialized.
Speaker 3 (04:09):
Why why is it that? Why is that? In your view?
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Well, I think.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Again, because there are there are a number of issues
that go under reported. There is diversity in communities. Women
are not having the same access to care and are
not you know, there is no education for both the
woman and her healthcare provider about the signs and symptoms
(04:34):
to be looking for. So I hope that this will change.
We need to do much better education and targeted education.
We now have new communication methods that need to reach
personalize information to individual women, and with technology, we'll be
able to access care in more rural or underserved areas.
(04:54):
For example, ultrasounds small miniature ultrasounds that can be taken
into communities in underserved areas and then with telehealth wire
it back to a physician to interpret it. And some
of the breakthrough technologies that are underway are too For example,
do a pinprick to get some blood to look for
(05:17):
pre acclamsia, which is associated with hypertension that can cause
the death in mothers. So I think, you know, there's
a lot of work to do, but there's also a
lot of innovation that can be brought to this.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Space, Doctor Blumenthal.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
One thing I wanted to ask you the CDC's vaccine
meeting happening today and tomorrow, Just curious. One of the
things that's being discussed is changing the hepatitis B vaccine
recommendations for newborns and screening all women for hepatitis B.
What do you think of this, I'm just curious about it.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Well, I'm very concerned as public health doctor. I think
that you know, if you think about it. One hundred
and fifty years ago, average life expectancy was thirty eight.
We've doubled life expectancy in this century. In the year
nineteen hundred, eighteen percent of children died before the fifth birthday.
Vaccines and other public health interventions were major contributors were
(06:13):
landmark contributors to this extended lifespan. A generation has grown
up not seeing the devastation of polio, smallpox, diphtheria, and
so disinformation is circulating. Hepatitis saves vaccines have seend twenty
thousand babies, and so I think it's very, very irresponsible
(06:40):
to be changing these guidelines when we know that vaccines
save lives.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
What does this look like if the guidelines are changed,
How does it manifest itself in public health? Do we
see immediately a spike in things in your view that
could be prevented through vaccines.
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Well, we've seen a spike in, for example, measles. We've
seen our highest rates measles that we've seen decades. Measles
can cause disability and can cause death. I think there
have been two or three children that have already died,
so I think in the past week. So yes, I
mean I think we will. And again for measles, you
(07:17):
need to have ninety five percent of children vaccinated for
her immunity, so that you're protecting everyone in the community.
You know, right now there's been a study that showed
that one out of six parents is questioning whether to
follow the vaccination's schedule. So again, disinformation is circulating and
(07:39):
people are getting very confused. If we don't have our
major public health agencies consistent in their guidelines, then it's
up to the states to create their own recommendations. For example,
in my state of Massachusetts, our governor has said that
anybody who wants a vaccine will be able to get it,
(08:00):
and that insurance companies need to pay for those vaccines
because again under the Affordable Care Act, in the Preventive
Services guidelines, vaccines were covered under your insurance as a
free provole of service.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
This may change.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
If the guidelines change, means that vaccines will cost people money,
and that will be an obstacle to getting you or
your child vaccinated.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Doctor bluemyth thought, before you go, life threatening and very important.
Before you go, we've just got thirty seconds. Your family
involved in public service, your husband's still in it, Senator
Ed Markey. Of course you were in it for a
long time. What do you hear what it's like to
be in public service now considering some of the attacks
(08:48):
that we've seen, it feels like from various groups and entities.
And just got about twenty seconds.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
Well, it's an honor to serve and sadly I think
you know it's it's a challenging time, but to be
able to give back to your country, UH is extremely meaningful.
And just to end this with women's health, when we're
improving women's health means improving the health of families, of
communities and a country.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
H
Hosts And Creators
Tim Stenovec
Carol Massar
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.