Mayor Bill de Blasio today launched NYC Care in Manhattan and Queens ahead of schedule, delivering on the Administration’s promise of guaranteed health care access for all New Yorkers citywide, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. Since its launch in August 2019 in the Bronx, and expansion to Brooklyn and Staten Island in January 2020, nearly 30,000 New Yorkers have enrolled and obtained access to high-quality health care across the city.
“Our mission to bring affordable, quality healthcare to every New Yorker has never felt more urgent,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With NYC Care now available citywide, we are delivering on this promise and setting a nationwide model of what it means to provide low-cost, affordable health care.”
“Through the support of the Mayor and our community partners, we are excited to reach the city-wide expansion of NYC Care ahead of schedule, making it easier for New Yorkers who need us most to connect to the quality health care we deliver with excellence, cultural competence, and compassion” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “After all, good health care starts with good primary care, especially during a pandemic and during the post-COVID recovery period. With our determination, NYC Care will continue to bridge health disparities to make New Yorkers healthier as our communities continue to face the challenges of this pandemic and beyond.”
To expand NYC Care membership in neighborhoods most affected by COVID-19, the City will collaborate with 19 community-based organizations (CBOs) to enroll uninsured New Yorkers in the program. Outreach will be conducted in key languages, such as Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Benagli and Urdu. Selected through a request for proposal process in July, the CBOs will conduct outreach with a focus on Jackson Heights, North Corona, Flushing, Murray Hill, Whitestone, Elmhurst and South Corona in Queens and Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble, Hamilton Heights, Manhattanville, West Harlem, Chinatown & Lower East Side in Manhattan:
- Alliance for Positive Change
- Bangladeshi American Community Development & Youth Services (BACDYS)
- China Manpower Project
- CIANA
- DSI International
- Emerald Isle Immigration Center
- Haitian Americans United
- Jacob A Riis Neighborhood Settlement
- Korean Community Services
- Make the Road New York
- Mexican Coalition
- New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE)
- Polonians Organized to Minister to Our Community (POMOC)
- Queens Community House
- Single Stop
- South Asian Council for Social Services (SACSS)
- The Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey
- United Sikhs
- Voces Latinas
In addition to the new CBOs, CBOS that are currently active in in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island will receive a seven-month extension to their contracts as well.
The City will also spearhead a public awareness campaign in key languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Urdu, Bengali, and French, in key neighborhoods in Manhattan and Queens and near all NYC Health + Hospital facilities, including three subway station and bus shelter ad dominations, neighborhood locations, and LinkNYC terminals. In addition to these platforms, NYC Care will also take advantage of guerrilla marketing, coordinating street marketing teams, storefront and in-store posters in bodegas, laundromats, barbershops, check-cashing locations, and more.
Since its launch in the Bronx, NYC Care has dramatically changed the way the City’s public health system connects people to personalized, coordinated primary, preventive and specialty care. With the expansion of NYC Care to Queens and Manhattan, new NYC Care members will receive a primary care appointment within two weeks. All NYC Care members also receive a membership card, access to language interpretation services, expanded pharmacy hours within the NYC Health + Hospitals system, and a 24/7 customer assistance line where they can ask questions about NYC Care and speak to an on-call clinician for all of their needs, including prescription refills. Those who are eligible and want to enroll in the program should call 646-NYC-CARE.
To date, NYC Care’s nearly 30,000 members have had over 85,000 provider visits since the beginning of the program, with over 17,000 telehealth visits and over 30,000 prescriptions filled during new extended pharmacy hours. Further, nearly 20,000 members have been screened for depression since the program began and have been connected to additional supports and services when appropriate. NYC Health + Hospitals is also hiring 26 new primary care providers and specialists, expanding on existing care teams at Queens and Manhattan NYC Health + Hospitals locations. To date, NYC Health + Hospitals has hired over 20 new providers at facilities in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, and continues to recruit to hire over 60 new medical providers to serve new patients through NYC Care.
Additional information on NYC Care, including brochures and translated material languages, is available here.
“With the expansion of NYC Care citywide, we are making the vision of guaranteed health care a reality for all who call our city home, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay,” said Bitta Mostofi, Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. “In partnership with a network of community-based organizations that serve their communities in 30 different languages, we are excited we will be able to connect New Yorkers citywide to the care they need when they need it. At a time when the health and well-being of our immigrant communities are under a dual attack from a global pandemic and a xenophobic federal administration, I am proud we live in a city where health care is a right guaranteed to all.”
“Today marks an important milestone for New York City. All New Yorkers, no matter their income, immigration, or insurance status, are now entitled to access comprehensive primary, preventive, and specialty care through NYC Care,” said NYC Care Executive Director Marielle Kress. “No New Yorker should be fearful to access needed health care services, especially during the COVID-19 crisis, and I look forward to our ongoing collaboration with our trusted community-based partners to amplify this essential message.”
