Effect of EITC on Biological Markers of Aging, Health and Mortality

NCT03226548 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: AAAQ9663 (ADD-ON)R01AG054466
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,350
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Paycheck Plus (PP) is a randomized controlled experiment (RCT) that explores the health and longevity effects associated with increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). EITC is a national program that provides tax credits to low-income, disproportionately minority workers who file taxes. EITC is politically popular, having received bipartisan support. The EITC, along with state supplemental programs, have 7 million American families out of poverty. The investigators' preliminary data analyses show that the EITC has had large population health impacts, reversing declines in self rated health and survival among the poorest Americans.

Conditions

Poverty; Tax Policy

Keywords

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); Tax Credit; Paycheck Plus

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Mean Score on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)

  Depression will be measured using the subject's score on the PHQ-9.

  4 Years

• EuroQol 5D5L

  Health-related quality of life

  4 years

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Mean Body Mass Index (BMI)

  2 Years

• Telomere length

  4 years

• Mortality

  4 years

Study Arms (2)

Experimental

EXPERIMENTAL

Paycheck Plus: Participants will receive four times the standard Earned Income Tax Credit after filing their annual taxes

Other: Paycheck Plus

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Control participants will receive the standard Earned Income Tax Credit after filing their annual taxes

Interventions

Paycheck Plus OTHER

A four-fold increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit

Experimental

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 65 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• a US resident
• Filed taxes
• Earned \<$30,000 in the previous year
• Aged 21-64
• Have a Social Security number

You may not qualify if:

• Eligible for Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance
• Married
• Have dependent children

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Columbia University: lead
• MDRC: collaborator
• National Institute on Aging (NIA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Westat

Atlanta, Georgia, 30303, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Peter Muennig, MD

  Columbia University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Randomized Controlled Trial

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 18, 2017
• First Posted: July 21, 2017
• Study Start: December 20, 2016
• Primary Completion: December 31, 2021
• Study Completion: December 31, 2021
• Last Updated: April 6, 2022

Record last verified: 2022-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)