The COVID pandemic highlighted in the Big Apple the impact that the lack of access to medical services has on low-income communities and among immigrants who for a long time, or even never in their lives in New York City, visited a doctor. , since knowing the state of health and taking measures to deal with ailments that may exist is often a matter of life or death.
This is how Raúl Velarde defines it, a patient at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, who at 73 years old, assures that having constant check-ups with his primary doctor, Dr. Soto, in one of the 11 public hospitals in the City, does not It has only allowed him to keep his type 2 diabetes under control, but it has also helped him stay healthy.
“In general, private medical care is very expensive and many times one does not find doctors who make you feel that what happens to you matters, and this is not to praise, but I can say that without this care that I have been able to have in this hospital, or I would have already returned to my country, or I would have been underground, because here they have given me the best care; The service is the best,” says the immigrant, one of the almost 120,000 beneficiaries of the NYC Care health care program, which was launched in 2019 and seeks to guarantee free or very low-cost services, offered by NYC Health + Hospitals. to New Yorkers who do not qualify for or cannot afford health insurance.
“I have had NYC Care since it started, and I can assure you that the doctors here do not care where I am from, or what color I am, or what religion. Here they are dedicated to curing you. “I don’t have documentation and they treat me like a king,” says the father of the family, who has lived in New York for 22 years. “The payments I make are minimal, to a certain extent ridiculous, only $2 dollars for my tablets and insulin, I can tell my doctor in my own language what my body feels and she understands me and she takes action.”
However, and despite the fact that the NYC Care program, which serves its patients in both the city’s 11 public hospitals and more than 57 community clinics in the five boroughs, ensures that the wait time for appointments has decreased. decreased, and can be obtained in 14 days, Velarde points out that because of how busy the place he goes is, he often has to wait between a month and sometimes up to two months for a consultation.
“I feel that the wait for appointments has increased a little, but I understand that it is because there are many patients. However, the good thing is that depending on how bothersome you are, you can call the receptionist, and if it is very serious, she will find a way to get me into an appointment faster, and if I still don’t have the appointment, I have the option. option to go for emergencies,” adds the Mexican, who convinced his wife to join the NYC Care program, where they discovered that she had high cholesterol and began to treat her. “I insisted that she come, because she had not seen a doctor for months. She was afraid that they were going to charge us or something would happen, but as I tell Hispanics and non-Hispanics, if you can’t pay for insurance, get NYC Care, it saves lives, and the papers don’t matter, and it’s not like Immigration will. to catch one in the hospital, because they don’t work here, and the only thing that matters to the doctors is the health of the individuals and not the status. “We have to do it without any fear.”
The NYC Care program attended 1,204,174 appointments in the last fiscal year, with an annual investment of $100 million and 8,242 doctors, of which 1,642 speak Spanish.
And after it was revealed that the number of beneficiaries of the NYC Care program increased 5.4% in the last year, going from 113,178 patients to 119,234, exceeding the original enrollment goal of 100,000 members, the Municipal Administration continues to call on all New Yorkers who have not yet processed their membership card and are still not receiving medical attention, do so. The goal is that no one in the Big Apple is left without access to health services and has the opportunity to be treated by family doctors and specialists, and receive the treatments that are required.
This is stated by Doctor Jonathan Jiménez, executive director of the NYC Care program, after warning that coming from a family with many undocumented immigrants, he understands very well the barriers that low income and the fear of seeking care, due to the lack of immigration status, impose on many New Yorkers, so the health care initiative is an option that changes that landscape.
Doctor Jonathan Jiménez, executive director of the NYC Care program/ Photo: Edwin Martinez
“I was born at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, like most of my cousins, and although we knew we could go for an emergency or pregnancy, it was not the same for other ailments. My mother went without a diagnosis of high blood pressure and diabetes for more than a decade, due to not being able to visit a doctor, and that is why we want that to not happen to other people here,” says the doctor, of Colombian origin. “That’s why NYC Care exists, a program with which we are saying that in New York City there is access and right to medical care, primary and preventive care, with affordable or free costs, and we have seen that people have responded greatly. , and more than 60% had never sought health care before. That is why we want to continue sending that message: no matter your immigration status or your ability to pay, we are here to serve you.”
The head of NY Care, who added that it is estimated that 60% of the program’s beneficiaries are Hispanic, reiterated that those who do not have papers have nothing to fear, since the City “recognizes the undocumented as New Yorkers who must be take care” and insisted that they do not share information with other institutions or federal agencies, such as Immigration, and the data is confidential.
“We have stories of people who hadn’t seen a doctor in two decades, four decades, or ever, and they saw and heard about the program and sought help, and we want to continue that. There are migrants who arrive every year, and we want to have the capacity to care for them and we hope that the number of members continues to increase and to be able to provide increasingly better services,” added Dr. Jiménez, emphasizing that the sooner the diagnosis is made in patients, the more The effects of diseases that are sometimes long-term can be prevented.
Regarding recently arrived migrants, who are mostly asylum seekers, the doctor assured that although they can sign up for health insurance, through NYC Care they help them do their homework to see if they can receive health care plans, through Metro Plus Health, and if this is not the case, they register them in the program.
“We do not want barriers such as lack of access to a lawyer or legal problems in their immigration status to be an inconvenience,” commented the doctor, who said that as the number of NYC Care beneficiaries grows, the City is investing another time in having enough primary care doctors, nurses, social workers, not only who speak Spanish, but other languages. However, if a patient cannot get an appointment with a primary care physician, specialist, or mental health doctor who speaks their language, translation services are available.
The City’s insistent message to everyone is to “seek medical attention without fear.” If someone is unsure whether or not they qualify for health insurance, they can seek help through community organizations, hospitals, and even by phone by calling (646) 692-2273 or visiting the website nyc care.nyc.
And as another way to ensure that New Yorkers enrolled in NYC Care are using the services offered and scheduling their appointments and doctor visits, through the Mayor’s Public Participation Unit, a campaign was launched to directly contact thousands of beneficiaries.
Isolina de la Cruz, director of the Public Participation Unit of the NYC Mayor’s Office. Photo: Edwin Martinez
“At the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit, we focus on identifying and executing effective outreach strategies to connect New Yorkers with benefits provided by the city, and currently, we have a collaboration with NYC Care, which benefits our communities, especially the migrant and low-income communities, which are our focus,” said the director of that unit, Isolina de la Cruz. “We have a campaign to connect more than 30,000 NYC Care members with primary care, to prevent more expensive emergency services. We not only focus on people having coverage but also ensuring they know how to use it to access services.”
Regarding the work of his office, De la Cruz warned that they focus on mass outreach and follow-up tasks to be able to connect New Yorkers not only with health services, but also with essential benefits and resources.
“Our goal is for them to have the information they need and to know about the benefits that are available, regardless of their condition. We focus on helping every New Yorker how to apply, regardless of immigration status or income,” said the official. “The importance of collaborating across agencies ensures the way we manage services is more efficient for New Yorkers, like NYC Care more efficiently.”
NYC Care by the numbers
- The health care program has been running for 4 years
- 1,204,174 appointments were attended in the last fiscal year under the NYC Care program
- 5.4% increase in the number of patients with NYC Care in the last year
- 119,234 is the current number of beneficiaries
- 60% of patients are Hispanic
- The program has grown 324% since its first year
- $100 million is the annual investment that the City makes in the NYC Care program
- 8,242 is the total number of doctors who provide services in that program
- 1,642 doctors speak Spanish
- 70 hospital units serve patients with NYC Care
- 11 public hospitals in the City and 30 Gotham Health Centers, including
New Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health. Edwin Martinez
Facts about the NYC Care health program and how to apply
- NYC Care is a health care program that guarantees free or very low-cost services offered by NYC Health + Hospitals to New Yorkers who do not qualify for or cannot afford health insurance.
- NYC Care does not ask about immigration status or ability to pay
- With the NYC Care card you can receive medical care at 11 NYC Health + Hospitals throughout the city and more than 57 additional clinics
- For 24-hour information, you can call (646) 692-2273
- You can also visit the NYCcare.nyc website
- NYC Care offers preventive care like vaccines, routine screenings, and mammograms
- Also offers mental health support and substance abuse services
- You can get your first appointment within an estimated two weeks
- Prescription drugs are very cheap
- NYC Care requires no membership fees, monthly dues or premiums
- The cost of health care is based on your family size and income
- To receive the NYC Care card you must live in any of the five boroughs of the Big Apple
- You must not qualify for any health insurance plan available in New York State
- You must show that you cannot afford health insurance according to government guidelines
- If you do not qualify for NYC Care or any health insurance plan, you may be eligible to receive services under the NYC Health + Hospitals Options program.