A press conference yesterday discussed the launch of RxKids into the entire Upper Peninsula. The program was first introduced in Flint in 2024, and has since expanded into other regions, including the five easternmost U.P. counties one year ago.

RxKids is a program meant to assist young families during one of the most challenging time periods. In short, it provides money during pregnancy and during the first months of a baby’s life, with no restrictions on how the funds must be used.

To be eligible in the newest district — Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Marquette, Menominee, and Ontonagon counties — residing families can enroll anytime from 16+ weeks pregnancy until six months of age, as long as the baby was born after March 1, 2026. During pregnancy, a mother may be issued $1,500, and after birth, the baby’s parent or guardian may receive $500 per month for six months — making for a total of $4,500. There are two versions of the program; in other places, payments can continue for a year.

Applicants must be 18 years of age or older or be 16 years of age and have parental or guardian consent.

A tired mother lies with newborn baby on a bed next to a book entitled "Your Baby's First Year." To aid in this difficult part of life, a program in Michigan provides money to parents of newborns. (Kike Calvo via AP Images )

The founder and director of RxKids, Dr. Mona Hanna, is the associate dean of public health at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. A pediatrician, scientist, activist, and author, Hanna rose into the international spotlight for exposing the Flint water crisis a decade ago. Her efforts led to Time magazine naming her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and the U.S. government recognizing her as an “Outstanding American by Choice,” an initiative to highlight the achievements of naturalized U.S. citizens. Years later, she made waves in another big way by introducing RxKids to the same community in 2024.

The funding for RxKids comes partially (about 80%) from the State of Michigan and partially from donors — which include charitable organizations, community health foundations, companies and municipalities.

LMAS District Health Department — which serves Luce, Mackinac, Alger and Schoolcraft Counties — jumped on board to serve as the Regional Champion of RxKids’ expansion across the U.P. after seeing its effectiveness in the E.U.P. over the last year.

“In the regional champion role, we’ve been working with Dr Mona Hanna; Give Directly, the organization that administers the program; and the five other U.P. health departments to make this launch successful,” said Director Nick Derusha. “As regional champion, LMAS is able to share information back and forth and ensure that all the health departments have the knowledge, resources and support they need, not only to launch the program, but to ensure the success, both now and into the future.”

Since RxKids was brought to the E.U.P. in 2025, it has distributed $1.7 million to over 500 families, who were then able to spend that money in the community. Recipients said that they’ve used the funds for doctor’s visits, prenatal care, diapers and other baby needs, food, and/or simply as cushion to help get by when being out of work postpartum.

Throughout Michigan, around $250 million has been already been dedicated to support the program over the next three years.

In the central and western U.P., a number of partners have jumped onboard to contribute funds for the local rollout. Copper Shores Community Health Foundation committed $100,000; the Keweenaw Community Foundation made a $50,000 commitment.

“Local fundraising matters so much with this program, because when dollars for RxKids are raised locally, they stay local, and in this case, they’re unlocking something a lot bigger,” said Megan Murphy, CEO of the Superior Health Foundation. “So when your community is giving to this program, you’re not just making a contribution. You are leveraging resources that may otherwise go somewhere else. …There is a direct economic return for this program, so it’s both an investment in U.P. families as well as U.P. communities.”

While the program has largely been heralded and has bipartisan support, it is not without criticism.

Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall recently called RxKids a “scam” and suggesting investigating Michigan State University.

As opposed to this relatively new initiative, Hall said, traditional cash welfare programs give to people only with financial needs after structured eligibility checks — whereas there’s nothing to prevent parents from using RxKids money on drugs after completing “self-attestation” forms.

Hall also suggested that Hanna and her program are a “front” for Soros-backed leftist groups, claiming that RxKids is “subsidizing illegal aliens” and trying to bring more immigrants to Michigan to “give them guaranteed income and register them to vote and get them to vote for Democrats.”

During a news conference in Lansing about two weeks ago, Hall said, “I think the taxpayers of Michigan would rather have a program that gives to people that have a financial need and ensures they’re spending them on responsible things that are going to help with a baby developing healthy. This RxKids is a scam, and we’re not going to fund it anymore, and we’re going to continue to look into it and show what a scam it is.”

While there technically is no income barrier nor requirement of how the money can be used, Hanna reported this week that data shows that new moms are making healthier choices and getting better care after receiving these payments.

Of the families in the E.U.P. who received RxKids funding in the past year, “over 50% of those families are making less than $50,000 a year,” Hanna said on Monday.

The application is relatively simple, quick to complete, and coordinators aim to approve applications quickly.

Speaking in support of RxKids, Senator Ed McBroom said, “I think it’s really exciting and a very simple program. It’s not like so many of the other ones the HHS or other government agencies run that are just incredibly complex and frustrating, and people get incredibly irritated.”

McBroom also remarked that other countries have programs that help incentivize growing their populations, and that RxKids seems to be modeled after their success, “recognizing the incredible value there is to a community to see more babies being born.”

Every six months, RxKids sends a survey to participants to help understand how recipients are doing. Hanna read several comments received from participating mothers, one of which was: “When I first heard of this program, I immediately thought, ‘what’s the catch?’ Just because that’s how the world has hardened me. But to just help people takes love and patience and dedication, and I just want to say with my whole heart, thank you so much, truly.”

The Jamie and Denise Jacob Family Foundation was proud to to support RxKids’ recent launch in Detroit because it “aligns with our Foundation’s values of listening to and trusting those with lived experience, in this case parents, as the experts on what their families need,” said executive director Megan Fenkell. “As a research-backed approach, Rx Kids reinforces a powerful message: parents know best, and with added support in the earliest stages of childhood and parenthood, both families and communities are stronger for it.”

Chairman Austin Lowes of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians saw the success of the first U.P. rollout of the program and encouraged its expansion into other regions.

“As a parent myself, I can tell you that building a nursery is expensive. Car seats are expensive, utilities are pricey. All the items that you need to safely care for your child really add up really fast, and this program helps address some of those items that are needed,” Lowes said. “We’ve heard nothing but positive things about this program since it’s been implemented, and we couldn’t be more excited for the expansion of this program throughout the rest of the Upper Peninsula.”

People may read more about the program or apply at rxkids.org.