Rx Kids
The USA's first community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program: every expectant mother in a covered community — no means test — receives $1,500 mid-pregnancy plus $500/month for the baby's first 6–12 months. Launched in Flint, Michigan in January 2024 by MSU pediatrician Mona Hanna and poverty scholar Luke Shaefer, administered with GiveDirectly. By mid-2026 it reaches 42+ Michigan communities including the entire Upper Peninsula, with a $250M bipartisan legislative investment funding 20+ more communities (~23,000 additional births/year) and first expansion into Ohio. Peer-reviewed 2026 studies tie it to reduced neonatal mortality and fewer child-welfare investigations in Flint.
Near-floor as money — it issues nothing and is fully fiat — but a landmark money-pilot: the first universal, community-wide cash prescription in the US, now scaling statewide with $250M bipartisan funding and peer-reviewed mortality-reduction evidence. Scores as a money-pilot experiment per the GiveDirectly/Magnolia precedent.
M69 Score
Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.
Detailed Rating Breakdown
Issuance Model3x1.0
No issuance of its own — distributes existing USD from state appropriations and philanthropy. Single-payer program, fully discretionary funding decisions upstream (IM-01/IM-03 floor).
Spending Power Stability2x1.0
Rides USD purchasing power; no stability mechanism of any kind. Fixed nominal amounts ($1,500 + $500/mo) are not inflation-indexed.
Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x1.0
Entirely fiat: USD transfers over conventional banking/payment rails (GiveDirectly administration). No independence dimension.
Traction2x3.0
Strongest category driver: fully active and in its largest-ever expansion (TR-01=5), 42+ communities and tens of thousands of families reached (TR-03≈3), founders highly active and public (TR-06=5), deep partner bench — MSU, GiveDirectly, State of Michigan, major foundations (TR-07≈5), peer-reviewed outcome studies + statewide media (TR-08=5), strong 12-month growth (TR-10=5). Capped by no own currency: zero merchant/unit-of-account function (TR-04=1, TR-05=1) and 2.5-year lifespan (TR-02=3).
Sovereignty1.0
State- and philanthropy-funded program on custodial rails; the legislature or funders can end it. No censorship resistance, full identity verification.
Governance2.0
Institutionally governed (MSU-led, public reporting, bipartisan legislative oversight) but participants have no governance voice; rules are policy, changeable by the operators.
Resilience2.0
Real 3-year funding runway ($250M legislative + philanthropy) and bipartisan support is unusual durability for a cash pilot (RE-07≈4), but existence remains hostage to political cycles; no structural resilience.
Inclusivity4.0
Its signature strength: universal within covered communities — every mother regardless of income, no means test, no strings (IN-05=5), zero cost to join (IN-02=5), explicitly deployed in high-poverty cities (IN-03=5), all value flows to participants (IN-04=5). Held back by geographic restriction (IN-01=2) and ID/residency verification (IN-06=2).