NYC Care: Who Qualifies, What It Covers, What It Doesn't

What NYC Care actually is

It helps to be precise, because the word “insurance” causes real problems here.

NYC Care is a health care access program, run by NYC Health + Hospitals. If you’re uninsured and you can’t get coverage — because of your immigration status, because you fall through a gap, because you can’t afford what’s on offer — NYC Care connects you to a primary care doctor inside the public hospital system, gives you a membership card, and charges you little or nothing.

What it is not: a card you can take to a private doctor in your neighborhood, or to Mount Sinai, or to a specialist your friend recommends. Care happens inside NYC Health + Hospitals — the eleven public hospitals and the network of Gotham Health clinics across the five boroughs. Within that system it works well. Outside it, the card does nothing.

The program has grown past 145,000 members since launching citywide, which makes it one of the largest programs of its kind in the country.

Who qualifies

Three conditions:

You live in New York City. Any borough. You’ll need something showing your address.

You are uninsured and don’t qualify for coverage you could actually use. If you qualify for Medicaid or the Essential Plan, the enrollment staff will tell you — and you should take it, because insurance is broader than NYC Care.

That’s it. There is no income cutoff for membership, and there is no immigration status requirement. Income only determines what you pay, not whether you’re accepted.

What it costs

Costs follow the same income scale that NYC Health + Hospitals uses for financial assistance generally.

For one person in 2026, 200% of the federal poverty level is $31,920 a year. Here are the thresholds by household size:

Each additional person adds $5,680 to 100% FPL. Annual figures.

Prescriptions filled through the system are low-cost. Emergency care at an H+H hospital is available to anyone regardless of membership — that’s federal law, not a program benefit — but NYC Care membership is what gets you the primary care that keeps you out of the emergency room in the first place.

What you get

• A primary care provider at an H+H facility near you, and an appointment usually within two weeks
• Specialist care by referral within the system
• Prescription medication at low cost through H+H pharmacies
• Mental health and substance use services
• Sexual and reproductive health care
• A 24-hour customer service line, with support in multiple languages
• A membership card — which matters more than it sounds, because it changes how the front desk treats you

How to enroll

1. Call 1-646-NYC-CARE (1-646-692-2273). Enrollment is by phone or in person at an H+H facility. The line has interpreters.
2. Bring or have ready three things:
   • Proof of identity — passport, IDNYC, consular ID, driver’s license. IDNYC is accepted and is itself available regardless of immigration status.
   • Proof of New York City residence — a lease, a utility bill, mail addressed to you.
   • Proof of income — pay stubs, a letter from your employer, or a self-attestation letter if you’re paid in cash. Cash work does not disqualify you; there is a procedure for it.
3. Get screened for insurance first. Enrollment staff will check whether you qualify for Medicaid, the Essential Plan or Child Health Plus. If you do, take it — you’d be trading a city program for real coverage.
4. Receive your card and a primary care appointment.

The honest limitations

Three things worth knowing before you rely on it:

It’s a network, not a card that travels. If you move out of the city, or you want a specific doctor outside H+H, NYC Care doesn’t follow you.

Specialist waits exist. The public system carries enormous volume. Primary care access is genuinely fast; some specialty queues are not.

It doesn’t protect you from bills at private hospitals. If you end up in a private emergency room, NYC Care is not what helps you — hospital financial assistance is, and that’s a separate application at that hospital.