Veterans, women and rural advocates urge FDA to design access pathways that avoid leaving populations behind

At the hearing, multiple speakers underscored the risk that prescriptive requirements could limit access for veterans, people in rural health‑care shortage areas, and women whose life‑stage differences require tailored data.

John Eaton of the Wounded Warrior Project urged the FDA to plan safeguards and access together, saying approval alone will not create access and that federal partners should prepare care systems: "We call on FDA to move with urgency maintaining rigor, transparency," he said. Jon Dalton (Nevada Coalition for Psychedelic Medicines) noted severe clinician shortages in rural states and asked FDA to preserve flexible lead-monitor models so clinics in frontier areas can serve patients.

Speakers focused on women's health: Melissa Lavasani urged sex‑specific data capture (reproductive stage, hormonal status) so treatments are safe and inclusive across pregnancy, postpartum and menopause. Commenters recommended measuring travel time, out-of-pocket costs and visit burden as part of access metrics.