California Gov. Gavin Newsom has added millions of dollars for menopause-related health services to the state budget following public criticism from actress Halle Berry, who recently faulted him for vetoing legislation aimed at expanding menopause care coverage, as reported by The New York Post.
In his newly unveiled budget, Newsom included $3.4 million in funding dedicated to menopause and perimenopause services within California’s roughly $350 billion spending plan.
The funding was included without public fanfare and appears as a line item in budget documents.
According to those documents, the allocation includes $3 million from the state’s general fund, along with “$391,000 Managed Care Fund ongoing, to support health care coverage for perimenopause and menopause, including enrollee access to care, provider education, and a statewide public awareness campaign.”
The move follows criticism Berry delivered onstage weeks earlier, where she took direct aim at Newsom for vetoing menopause-related legislation in consecutive years.
“Back in my great state of California, my very own governor, Gavin Newsom, has vetoed our menopause bill, not one, but two years in a row,” Berry said.
“But that’s OK, because he’s not going to be governor forever, and the way he has overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us, he probably should not be our next president either. Just saying.”
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