What Michigan lawmakers are questioning about the $300 million Rx Kids program

LANSING, Mich., Aug. 7 (Our Michigan Times) — Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall is calling for more information about Rx Kids, a cash-assistance program for pregnant women and new parents that began in Flint and has expanded to communities across the state.

Hall, a Republican from Richland Township, says lawmakers approved a taxpayer-funded maternal health program but were not told they were creating a broader cash-payment program. He has questioned the program’s funding, eligibility rules and lack of restrictions on how recipients spend the money.

The dispute centers on a basic question: Who receives Rx Kids payments, and which money pays for them?

How the program works

Rx Kids provides a $1,500 payment during pregnancy. After a child is born, the program provides $500 monthly payments. The number of monthly payments varies by location, with program descriptions ranging from six months to as many as 12 months.

The program is intended to help families pay for needs associated with pregnancy and early childhood. Recipients may spend the money as they choose. Program officials ask participants through surveys or self-assessments how the money is used, but they do not directly monitor purchases, according to testimony before the Michigan House Oversight Committee.

As of June 2, the program had provided more than $42 million to about 11,700 new and expecting parents, according to program figures reported after the committee hearing.

What Michigan approved

Michigan lawmakers allocated $300 million for Rx Kids in 2024. The money was expected to be spent over three years, with additional funding approved each year as needed.

The supplied public accounts describe different totals, including about $300 million, more than $300 million and roughly $306.5 million. Those figures may refer to different appropriations or funding categories. The appropriation bill, budget language and roll-call record needed to settle the totals were not identified in the available material.

The program also has received money from outside government. Rx Kids founder Dr. Mona Hanna told the House Oversight Committee that the program had raised about $86 million from nongovernmental sources.

Hanna is a pediatrician and an associate dean for public health at Michigan State University, which has been identified as the program’s administrator.

Why immigration status is part of the dispute

Rx Kids is available to undocumented mothers. Hall has said the program does not check citizenship and that payments have gone to people who were not legally present in the United States. His office provided Fox News with video of committee testimony in which unnamed program officials acknowledged such payments.

The available material does not include the full video, a transcript, payment records or the names of those officials.

Hanna gave a different explanation of how the program is financed. She testified that undocumented recipients are supported with philanthropic money, not state or federal taxpayer funds. She said Medicaid-eligible recipients may be supported with state and federal Medicaid money. Legally present recipients who are not enrolled in Medicaid may receive money from Healthy Michigan and private sources.

Hanna also said applicants must submit identification documents, while noting that those documents do not establish legal status. She said, “No state funds go to undocumented immigrants — none.”

The available records do not include a payment-level audit that would independently reconcile Hall’s claims about recipients with Hanna’s claims about the source of funds.

What Hall is asking

Hall has asked for answers about how the Legislature’s money is being used, who qualifies for payments, how administrators separate government and private funds, and why recipients are not required to spend the money on specific goods or services.

He has described the payments as unconditional income. Hanna and program officials have presented Rx Kids as a way to provide direct support during pregnancy and a child’s first year.

The House Oversight Committee questioned Hanna about those issues during a June 2 hearing in Lansing. The supplied material does not identify a final committee finding, a court action or a completed audit.

Questions have also been raised in some reports about possible connections between Rx Kids and voter registration. The available material does not establish that the program has a formal voter-registration tie.

For now, the central disagreement is not over whether Rx Kids provides cash. Both sides acknowledge that it does. The unresolved issue is how the program’s public and private funding streams are divided, and whether the Legislature’s approval covered the program’s current design and reach.