Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)

Code:

NCT04888832

Conditions

Health Disparities

Food Security

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 49

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Work requirement exemption months

Study Details

Brief summary:

More than a dozen states have proposed or plan to implement work requirements in Medicaid, and similar requirements already exist nationally in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), yet evidence on the effects of these policies is limited. In cooperation with the state of Virginia, the investigators plan to conduct a randomized controlled trial studying the impacts of work requirements in public programs on insurance coverage, SNAP participation, employment, and health, with a particular focus on changes in racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in these outcomes. The COVID-19 epidemic and concurrent economic downturn creates additional urgency around these issues, and the investigators will use a combination of national administrative data and a new population survey to assess disparities in employment, health care, and food insecurity during this crisis.

Conditions

Health Disparities

Food Security

Study ID

NCT04888832

Start date

Apr 1, 2024

Status verified date

Feb, 2025

Completion date

Dec, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

May 1, 2025

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 49

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Eligible for Virginia's SNAP program as an "able-bodied adult without dependents" (ABAWD) and thus subject to work requirements (this eligibility is age restricted to 18-49)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Categorical exemption from work requirements for any reason (e.g., has a disability, has dependents, resides in a geographic area where work requirements have been waived due to elevated employment)

Study Design

Enrollment

12500 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Factorial

Primary purpose

Health Services Research

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

no intervention: Control Group

No change to work requirements or recertification period

active comparator: Intervention Group 1

Standard 6-month recertification period, additional 6-month work requirement exemption

active comparator: Intervention Group 2

Standard 6-month recertification period, additional 12-month work requirement exemption

active comparator: Intervention Group 3

Standard 6-month recertification period, additional 12-month work requirement exemption

active comparator: Intervention Group 4

12-month recertification period (6-month extension), additional 6-month work requirement exemption

Interventions

Work requirement exemption months

Cross-randomized intervention will test effect of additional exemption months before work requirements in SNAP become binding and extensions of the standard SNAP recertification period.

Primary outcome measure

  • SNAP enrollment [ Time Frame: Up to 24 months after randomization ]
  • Employment status [ Time Frame: Up to 24 months after randomization ]
  • UI covered earnings [ Time Frame: Up to 24 months after randomization ]
  • Non-UI covered earnings [ Time Frame: Up to 24 months after randomization ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Timothy J Layton, PhD

573-353-1566Layton@hcp.med.harvard.edu

Adrianna McIntyre, PhD

5863068889amcintyre@g.harvard.edu

Locations

Virginia Department of Social Services (Home Office)

Recruiting

Glen Allen, Virginia, United States, 23060

Contacts

Heeju Jang-Paulsen

HeeJu.Jang-Paulsen@dss.virginia.gov

More Information

Sponsor

Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)

Last update posted

Mar 5, 2025

Last verified

Feb, 2025

Keywords

  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
  • work requirements
  • Medicaid

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM) on 2025-03-05.