NYC Health + Hospitals Has Eliminated Six Month Residency Eligibility Requirement for NYC Care

NYC Health + Hospitals has eliminated the six-month residency eligibility requirement for the health system’s NYC Care program. NYC Care is a health care access program that guarantees low-cost and no-cost services to New Yorkers who do not qualify for or cannot afford health insurance. That means foreign-born New Yorkers can apply as soon as they arrive in this city.

With more than 110,000 members, NYC Care has become a national health care model that guarantees low and no-cost primary and specialty care services at the public health system’s hospitals and health centers across all five boroughs.

Eligible, uninsured adults can call 646-NYC-CARE ((646-692-2273) to see if they qualify for NYC Care membership with proof of an address in the five boroughs. The health system’s facilities do not collect information on a patient’s immigration status and it never releases patient information without authorization by the patient or without being required to do so by law.

NYC Care became available at NYC Health + Hospitals locations in the Bronx starting in August 2019 and is now available across all five boroughs. NYC Care’s mission is to change the way the City’s public health care system connects the most vulnerable New Yorkers to primary and specialty care, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay.

NYC Care offers free and low-cost health care services to New Yorkers who don’t qualify for health insurance or can’t afford it. Services are provided through NYC Health + Hospitals (we have 11 hospitals, 30 community health centers, and five post-acute/long-term care facilities). Undocumented New Yorkers are strongly encouraged to apply since they don’t qualify for government programs such as Medicaid or Medicare.

NYC Care members speak 46 different languages with Spanish being the most common (60 percent). Other top languages include English, Chinese, Russian and Polish. Approximately 81 percent of current NYC Care members live in the 33 neighborhoods identified by the NYC Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity as hardest hit by COVID-19.

NYC Health + Hospitals has consistently advocated for immigrant health care and safety. In 2019, the health system in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs re-released a joint open letter to New Yorkers in 14 languages making a promise that no one will question their immigration status when they seek care at any of the public hospitals or community health centers across the five boroughs. The letter reaffirmed the health system’s commitment to protecting the immigration status of New Yorkers and urged immigrants to seek care without fear.

In New York City there are over 200 languages spoken throughout the five boroughs. NYC Health + Hospitals invests approximately $10 million annually to provide 24/7 assistance in 200 languages and dialects through telephonic, video and in-person interpretation, including sign-language services, to ensure patients receive safe, quality care in their language. The health system responds to 1 million requests for interpretation services annually, which translates into more than 13 million minutes of interpretation services every year. Evidence shows that health care services provided in the patient’s primary language leads to fewer medical errors and increases medication adherence and compliance with doctors’ recommendations.

In 2019, NYC Health + Hospitals expanded patient access to on-site legal services for immigration issues. This groundbreaking program – the longest-running and largest medical/legal partnership in the country dates back to 2002 – addresses patients’ legal matters and concerns. Lawyers, based at hospital and clinic facilities, can address matters related to residency, citizenship, visas, and asylum.

These services are available at a total of seven patient care sites, which also include: NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, Kings County, and Bellevue, and NYC Health + Hospitals/ Gotham, Health, Gouverneur, Morrisania, and Cumberland. Referrals to attorneys are typically coordinated by the public health system’s social workers and can be secured within one or two weeks.