The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is associated with improved health outcomes, but about one in five eligible families do not receive the benefit. An article in this month’s
issue of Health Affairs focuses on take up of the EITC among Californians with low incomes.
Using data from their "Assessing California Communities’ Experiences with Safety Net Supports" study—which included interviews with 411 EITC-eligible Californians with young children—Rita Hamad and coauthors find gaps in awareness of the program, confusion about complex eligibility requirements, and language barriers to obtaining needed information.
The authors also make recommendations for counteracting those shortcomings. "New EITC policy approaches are necessary, given that the populations most critical to reach may be the least likely to receive benefits," Hamad and coauthors conclude.
Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewedjournalat the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking
content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.
Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
