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Effect of Cash Benefits on Health Care Utilization

Sponsor
Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM) (Other)
Overall Status
Active, not recruiting
CT.gov ID
NCT05622903
Collaborator
Brigham and Women's Hospital (Other), Cambridge Health Alliance (Other)
3,615
Enrollment
1
Location
2
Arms
37.1
Anticipated Duration (Months)
97.4
Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

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.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Other: Cash Benefit
  • Other: No Cash Benefit
 N/A

Study Design

Study Type:
Interventional
Anticipated Enrollment :
3615 participants
Allocation:
Randomized
Intervention Model:
Parallel Assignment
Masking:
Triple (Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary Purpose:
Treatment
Official Title:
Effect of Cash Benefits on Health Care Utilization
Actual Study Start Date :
Jul 27, 2020
Actual Primary Completion Date :
Dec 31, 2021
Anticipated Study Completion Date :
Aug 31, 2023

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: Treatment Group

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

Other: Cash Benefit
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.
Other Names:
  • Basic Income
  • Debit Card

    		•
    Active Comparator: Control Group

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

    Other: No Cash Benefit
    No monthly cash benefit.

    Outcome Measures

    Primary Outcome Measures

    1. Emergency department use [10 months]

      Count of visits to the emergency department (ED) using the electronic health record

    Secondary Outcome Measures

    1. Behavioral health-related ED visit [10 months]

      Visits to the ED with a behavioral health-related diagnosis code

    2. Substance use disorder-related ED visit [10 months]

      Visits to the ED with a substance use disorder-related diagnosis code

    3. Potentially avoidable ED visit [10 months]

      Visits to the ED that are potentially avoidable, categorized as avoidable according to the previously validated New York University algorithm

    4. ED visit resulting in admission to the hospital [10 months]

      Visits to the ED that result in a hospitalization

    5. Outpatient service use [10 months]

      Office visits and visits for other types of outpatient care such as imaging and procedures

    6. COVID vaccination [10 months]

      Binary variable for having received at least one dose of any COVID vaccine by the end of the trial period

    7. Hemoglobin A1c [10 months]

      Continuous measure of diabetes, using the latest available reading or result during trial period

    8. Blood pressure [10 months]

      Continuous measure of blood pressure, using the latest available reading or result during trial period

    9. Weight [10 months]

      Continuous measure of weight, using the latest available reading or result during trial period

    10. Cholesterol [10 months]

      Continuous measure of cholesterol, using the latest available reading or result during trial period

    Eligibility Criteria

    Criteria

    Ages Eligible for Study:
    N/A and Older
    Sexes Eligible for Study:
    All
    Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
    Yes
    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

    Contacts and Locations

    Locations

    Site City State Country Postal Code
    1 Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts United States 02115

    Sponsors and Collaborators

    • Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)
    • Brigham and Women's Hospital
    • Cambridge Health Alliance

    Investigators

    • Principal Investigator: Sumit Agarwal, MD, MPH, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School

    Study Documents (Full-Text)

    More Information

    Publications

    None provided.
    Responsible Party:
    Sumit Agarwal, Instructor, Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)
    ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
    NCT05622903
    Other Study ID Numbers:
    • 2022P000093
    First Posted:
    Nov 21, 2022
    Last Update Posted:
    Nov 25, 2022
    Last Verified:
    Nov 1, 2022
    Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
    No
    Plan to Share IPD:
    No
    Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:
    No
    Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:
    No

    Study Results

    No Results Posted as of Nov 25, 2022