Lancet
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This Health Policy examines the relationship between child cash benefits and child health, with the goal of informing future policy development in the USA. As of 2024, more than 140 countries have adopted large-scale, government-funded child cash transfer programmes. High-income countries more often adopt universal or near universal programmes, while lower-income countries often impose means tests or condition benefits on specific behaviours. ⋯ Although the expanded CTC expired, state and local governments and communities have continued to advocate for and implement policies like it. On the basis of this success and building on global evidence, the USA should adopt a permanent child cash benefit consistent with other high-income countries and the 2021 expanded CTC. Nations further developing their cash benefits should also give special attention to the prenatal and infant period.
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Review
Strategic imperatives for health in the USA: a roadmap for the incoming presidential administration.
As the beginning of the next US presidential administration approaches, the USA faces a series of complex challenges that threaten the health of the American people and the effectiveness and sustainability of their health and health-care systems. Taking office in January, 2025, the next administration will need to address myriad systems-level and public health challenges, including the long-term health impacts of COVID-19 and threat of future pandemics, negative effects of climate change on health, unaffordability and inefficiencies in health care, and resulting and long-standing disparities in health-care access and health outcomes. ⋯ To achieve these goals, we suggest policy action items for federal stakeholders and emphasise the importance of social determinants of health, cross-sector collaboration, population health perspectives, and transformative partnerships. By prioritising these strategic imperatives, the incoming administration can set a plan towards a healthier, more resilient future for all Americans.
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The Human Development Index (HDI)-a composite metric encompassing a population's life expectancy, education, and income-is used widely for assessing and comparing human development and wellbeing at the country level, but does not account for within-country inequality. In this study of the USA, we aimed to adapt the HDI framework to measure the HDI at an individual level to examine disparities in the distribution of wellbeing by race and ethnicity, sex, age, and geographical location. ⋯ State of Washington and National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.