Why Women’s Health Procedures Are Literally Worth Less Than Men’s—And Why It Matters
Male-specific procedures are valued 30% higher than female ones on average, with some differences reaching as high as 142.8%. This systemic undervaluation means fewer resources, delayed care, and poorer health outcomes for women.
Did you know that a vaginal biopsy is worth less money to the healthcare system than a penile biopsy? That’s not a provocative statement—it’s a measurable fact. In the complex financial ecosystem of the U.S. healthcare system, male-specific procedures are systematically valued higher than female-specific ones.
This imbalance has significant consequences: delayed surgeries, lack of access to specialized care, and poorer health outcomes for women. The reason? It’s baked into the system—specifically, into the CMS billing codes established in the 1990s, which have consistently undervalued gynecologic procedures.
In this article, we’ll break down the data, explore why this disparity exists, and explain why changing the system is essential for advancing women’s health.
The Stark Reality of Healthcare Valuation
Research shows alarming disparities in how male and female-specific procedures are valued and reimbursed within the healthcare system:
Significantly Lower RVUs for Female-Specific Procedures
Relative Value Units (RVUs) are used to measure the value of medical procedures. On average, procedures performed on male patients receive RVUs that are 30% higher than those for comparable female-specific procedures.
Reimbursement Disparities in Facilities
Healthcare facilities are financially incentivized to perform male-specific procedures because they are reimbursed at higher rates. For example:
A male urethral reconstruction is reimbursed at a maximum difference of $772.96 more than a similar procedure for a female patient.
Urinary tract procedures performed on men receive 49.1% higher reimbursement on average than those for women.
More significant Disparity in Minor Procedures
Minor procedures involving female patients are particularly undervalued—84% of these procedures receive significantly lower RVUs than their male counterparts.
Lack of Progress Over Two Decades
There was no statistically significant progress in closing these reimbursement gaps between 2003 and 2023. Male-specific procedures have consistently maintained an RVU advantage of 31–34% over female-specific procedures.
What This Means for Women
Hospitals and surgical centers are financially motivated to prioritize procedures that bring in more revenue. Since gynecologic procedures are systematically worth less:
✅ Female surgeries are more likely to be delayed or canceled due to profitability concerns.
✅ Surgeons specializing in gynecologic care may face limited access to surgical time and resources.
✅ Female patients receive less attention and resources because their procedures generate less revenue.
Hospitals are financially motivated to prioritize procedures that bring in more revenue, which often means male-specific surgeries are scheduled first. This leaves women waiting longer for care, even when their needs are urgent.
Why Does This Happen?
To understand why this disparity exists, we need to look back at the origins of the current medical billing system.
In the 1990s, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced the RVU-based system to standardize medical billing. The goal was to create a balanced framework for determining how much a procedure is “worth” based on the resources, time, and expertise involved.
But from the beginning, OB/GYN was left behind.
Male-dominated specialties like urology, cardiology, and orthopedic surgery were assigned higher RVUs and reimbursement rates.
OB/GYN, which primarily deals with female health issues, was undervalued and assigned a smaller piece of the financial pie.
Since the total CMS budget is capped, increasing the value of gynecologic procedures would mean reducing the value of other procedures—a politically challenging and unpopular move.
This undervaluation has been locked into the system for over 30 years.
The Financial Incentive to Ignore Women’s Health
Healthcare is, at its core, a business. Hospitals, surgical centers, and providers are all under pressure to maximize profitability—and that means prioritizing procedures that bring in more revenue.
Consider this scenario:
An orthopedic surgeon can earn the same amount of reimbursement for a 30-minute procedure that a gynecologic surgeon would receive for a 4-hour laparoscopic endometriosis excision.
The hospital needs to maximize surgical suite time, equipment, and staffing efficiency.
Which surgery do you think they’ll schedule first?
This isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about financial incentives. When women’s health procedures generate less revenue, they become less of a priority.
Despite decades of research, the reimbursement gap between male and female procedures has remained unchanged since 2003. Women’s health is consistently undervalued, leading to delayed treatments and limited access to care.
How This Affects Women’s Health Outcomes
When female-specific procedures are undervalued and under-prioritized, the impact on women’s health is severe:
Delayed Diagnoses and Treatments
Women face longer wait times for gynecologic procedures and treatments due to limited access to surgical time and resources.
Higher Rates of Chronic Pain and Complications
Conditions like endometriosis, fibroids, and pelvic floor disorders often require complex surgical intervention. When these procedures are delayed or denied, women are left to suffer with chronic pain and worsened health outcomes.
Limited Access to Specialized Surgeons
Gynecologic surgeons face financial pressure as their procedures are reimbursed at lower rates. This discourages medical students from specializing in OB/GYN and reduces the pool of skilled surgeons.
What Needs to Change
Fixing this disparity requires a systemic overhaul of how CMS values gynecologic procedures:
1. Update CMS Billing Codes
OB/GYN procedures need to be reassessed and valued based on the complexity, time, and expertise involved—on par with comparable male-specific procedures.
2. Increase Advocacy for Women’s Health
Professional organizations and advocacy groups must push for legislative and regulatory reforms that increase reimbursement for female-specific procedures.
3. Pressure from Within the System
Healthcare institutions need to allocate more surgical time and resources to gynecologic procedures, even if they are less profitable.
This isn’t just a financial issue—it’s a health equity issue. Women’s health outcomes are directly tied to how much the healthcare system values their care. If OB/GYN procedures remain undervalued, women will continue to face delays, inadequate treatment, and poorer health outcomes.
For real change to happen, we need to push for a system that values women’s health on equal footing with men’s health. This means fixing the reimbursement model, increasing funding for female-specific care, and demanding that women’s health matters just as much—financially and medically—as men’s health.
