Rx Kids Director Testifies in Front of House Oversight Committee
Update: May 30-Jun 12, 2026
The House Oversight Committee heard testimony on Michigan’s Rx Kids program, which provides direct cash assistance to pregnant women and new mothers in participating eligible Michigan communities.
Under the program, participants receive a one-time prenatal payment of $1,500 and monthly payments of $500 for the first six or more months following the birth of a child. The program receives funding through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) dollars, the Healthy Michigan Fund, and private philanthropic contributions.
Throughout her testimony, Rx Kids Director Dr. Mona Hanna outlined the program’s identity verification, residency and pregnancy documentation requirements, fraud detection measures, and birth certificate verification that occur before funds are issued. She also testified that roughly 85% of the program’s funding goes directly to the participants, and the remaining 15% is used for operating and administrative costs. Dr. Hanna cited research that shows the program has led to improvements in prenatal care utilization, reductions in premature births, low-birth-weight births, and neonatal intensive care admissions among participants.
Republican members of the committee raised questions around the sustainability, oversight, and funding of the program as well as the long-term goals and eligibility requirements. Another point of concern House Republicans addressed was the lack of safeguards to ensure funds are strictly used for child and family-related expenses.
Hanna responded that the program is designed as an unrestricted cash assistance model and does not monitor individual purchases, instead placing the trust in the recipient. She also stated that taxpayer funds are not used to provide benefits to undocumented immigrants, but that private philanthropic dollars may be allocated for these families.
Discussions surrounding the program and its funding are expected to continue.