How New York gets care.
An independent consumer guide to health care access in New York City: coverage, costs, patient rights, and where to get care.
Start with your situation
Most health writing tells you what a condition is. Very little of it tells you what a New Yorker actually needs to know: which plan you still qualify for after your coverage changed, what a hospital is legally allowed to charge you, and what to do on a Tuesday afternoon when you have no coverage at all.
That’s the gap we work in. We don’t give medical advice — that’s your clinician’s job. We explain the system, the money, and your rights, and we show our sources.
Sections
Coverage
Every health coverage option available to New Yorkers — Medicaid, the Essential Plan, Child Health Plus, Medicare, marketplace plans, NYC Care — and who qualifies for which.
17 pagesCosts
What health care actually costs in New York City, what a hospital is legally allowed to charge you, and what to do when the bill arrives.
16 pagesRights
What you're entitled to in a New York health care setting — an interpreter, your records, an appeal, and protections that don't depend on your immigration status.
7 pagesNeighborhoods
Where care is available in specific parts of New York City, in which languages, and under which plans.
8 pagesGlossary of health coverage and billing terms
Deductible, coinsurance, MAGI, chargemaster, prior authorization — the vocabulary of American health coverage, explained with New York specifics.
20 pagesThe essentials
Which Health Program Are You Likely Eligible For in New York?
Answer five questions and see which New York health coverage programs are open to you — Medicaid, the Essential Plan, Child Health Plus, NYC Care, marketplace plans. Runs in your browser.
2026 Income Limits for Every New York Health Program
Every income threshold that decides eligibility in New York in 2026 — Medicaid, Essential Plan, hospital financial assistance, NYC Care — in one table, by household size, with sources.
You Have the Right to an Interpreter — Here's How to Use It
Hospitals and clinics receiving federal funds must provide free interpretation. What that covers in New York, why family members shouldn't translate, and what to say when you're refused.
Immigration Status and Medical Care in New York: What Is Protected
What immigration status does and does not affect when you seek care in New York — emergency treatment, hospital financial assistance, NYC Care, and what hospitals ask.
No Health Insurance in New York? What You Can Do This Week
A practical order of operations for uninsured New Yorkers: what to do today if you need care, and what to apply for this week so it doesn't happen again.
NYC Care: Who Qualifies, What It Covers, What It Doesn't
NYC Care gives uninsured New Yorkers access to NYC Health + Hospitals regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. What it is, what it isn't, and how to join.
How we work
Every figure on this site comes from a primary source — New York State, the city, or the text of the law — with the date we checked it. No one pays to appear in our lists, and we don't give medical advice.