Effect of Cash Benefits on Health Care Utilization

Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Health Care Utilization

Treatments: Other: No Cash Benefit; Other: Cash Benefit

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05622903

2022P000093

Details and patient eligibility

About

Using data from the Chelsea Eats program, we propose to study a randomized controlled trial in which the City of Chelsea, Massachusetts held a lottery to allocate cash benefits to its residents for ten months during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We will analyze the impact of the cash benefit on health care utilization and health.

Enrollment: 3,615 patients

Sex: All

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Resident of Chelsea, Massachusetts
• Household income at or below 30% of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Area Median Income

Exclusion criteria

• See inclusion criteria

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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3,615 participants in 2 patient groups

Treatment Group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in the treatment group received up to $400 per month.

Treatment:

Other: Cash Benefit

Control Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants in the control group did not receive monthly cash benefits.

Treatment:

Other: No Cash Benefit