Cash Transfers And Child Health In The US: What Is Known And What Questions Remain Aditi Vasan,Meredith Matone,Jordan I. Wood,andRebecka Rosenquist July 16, 2026

https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/briefs/cash-transfers-and-child-health?utm_campaign=health+policy+brief&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--QrDm8DTYgd1LMLXnf0Fn7HmevcUUaEFawnaJ34a8m5DBCy8daWHNWeMqy7qNf0z2Pynv-BktnnXKhdvBaCtm8w-bYew&_hsmi=428926803&utm_source=hasu Key Points Cash transfer programs are a promising strategy for improving families’ economic security because of their relative simplicity and respect for individuals’ autonomy. Policy makers have increasingly also looked to cash transfers as a tool to improve child health. There are multiple mechanisms by which cash transfers could improve child health, including by increasing household income and enabling health-promoting investments, by reducing income instability and caregiver stress, and by strengthening social connections and building community trust. Recent evidence on cash transfers and child health is mixed. A large randomized controlled trial and a quasi-experimental study examining birthweight thresholds for Supplemental Security Income receipt both found no significant effects on child health. However, several studies of the 2021 expanded child tax credit showed that these payments were associated with small but significant improvements in birth outcomes. Some findings have been consistent across studies, including that parents tend to invest cash transfers in ways that promote child health and well-being. The divergent child health impacts observed across studies could be due to differences in payment timing, limited versus universal payments, focus population, and study design. Future research should examine these issues, selecting outcomes carefully and using both robust causal inference designs and community-engaged research methods. Cash transfers show promise in improving child health but should ideally complement, not replace, other evidence-based economic support programs. Policy makers should ground their decisions about these programs in findings that emerge consistently from rigorous research over time.