Effect of Cash Benefits on Health Care Spending
1 other identifier
interventional
3,615
1 country
3
Brief Summary
During the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Chelsea, Massachusetts held a lottery to allocate monthly cash benefits to its residents. Using data from the Chelsea Eats program, the investigators propose to study the impact of the cash benefit on health care spending.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Jul 2020
Longer than P75 for not_applicable
3 active sites
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
July 27, 2020
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
December 31, 2021
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
January 23, 2026
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
February 2, 2026
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
December 1, 2026
ExpectedFebruary 5, 2026
February 1, 2026
1.4 years
January 23, 2026
February 3, 2026
Conditions
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Health care spending for medical services
Total payments to providers for medical services
9 months
Secondary Outcomes (3)
Health care spending in acute care setting
9 months
Health care spending in outpatient setting
9 months
Health care spending for prescription drugs
9 months
Study Arms (2)
Treatment Group
EXPERIMENTALParticipants in the treatment group received up to $400 per month.
Control Group
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants in the control group did not receive monthly cash benefits.
Interventions
Spending from the cards was not restricted to food but could be spent on anything and anywhere Visa was accepted. The debit cards were credited with the first payment on November 18th, 2020 and the second payment on December 18th, 2020. The program continued with monthly credits through August 2021.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Resident of Chelsea, Massachusetts
- Household income at or below 30% of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Area Median Income
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)lead
- Brigham and Women's Hospitalcollaborator
- University of Michigancollaborator
- Harvard Universitycollaborator
Study Sites (3)
Brigham and Women's Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138, United States
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- TRIPLE
- Who Masked
- CARE PROVIDER, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Primary Care Physician
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
January 23, 2026
First Posted
February 2, 2026
Study Start
July 27, 2020
Primary Completion
December 31, 2021
Study Completion (Estimated)
December 1, 2026
Last Updated
February 5, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-02
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share