Cash Program Halves Neonatal Deaths in Flint, Study Finds

Overview

• Researchers reported Wednesday that a JAMA Pediatrics analysis of 2021–2025 birth and death records found neonatal mortality in Flint fell 50% and early neonatal mortality fell 74% after the Rx Kids launch.
• Before Rx Kids, Flint’s neonatal death rate was 10.2 per 1,000 live births compared with 4.0 for the rest of Michigan, and the rate fell to 5.1 in 2025 making differences with the rest of the state statistically indistinguishable.
• Rx Kids gives $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 per month during the first year of life to all residents in participating communities and has expanded to more than 60 communities and over 18,000 families since January 2024.
• The survival results build on earlier Lancet Public Health findings of an 18% drop in preterm birth, a 27% drop in low birth weight, and a 29% drop in NICU admissions, with likely pathways including better housing, less food hardship, improved maternal mental health, higher prenatal care use, and purchases that support safer infant sleep.
• Authors and program leaders say rigorous follow-up is needed to see if the mortality gains persist and replicate in other places, and policymakers will need evidence on durability, mechanisms, and cost to decide about wider adoption.