NYC Care for uninsured adults with ADHD

If you live in New York City, have no health insurance and think you may have ADHD, NYC Care is likely to come up quickly. It can be a real route into care. It also has limits that are easy to miss, because its pages describe general services and never mention ADHD. This article explains what NYC Care is, who can use it, how mental health and psychiatry fit into it, and what to ask before you wait for an appointment. Program details are from NYC Care and NYC Health + Hospitals pages as of October 2026. Those sites block automated access, so the sources below are dated archived copies.

What NYC Care is, and what it is not

NYC Care describes itself as a health care access program that guarantees low-cost and no-cost services offered by NYC Health + Hospitals to New Yorkers who do not qualify for, or cannot afford, health insurance. Its own FAQ is direct: "NYC Care is not an insurance plan." Members get a membership card, choose a primary care provider and can use any NYC Health + Hospitals patient care location in the five boroughs, which NYC Care says includes 11 hospitals and dozens of community-based health centers.

Two consequences follow. First, NYC Care does not pay for care outside the public system, so it cannot be used at a private practice. Second, what you can get depends on what the NYC Health + Hospitals clinics near you offer, not on a benefits contract.

Who qualifies

According to NYC Care, you must:

• live in the five boroughs of New York City;
• not qualify for any health insurance plan available in New York State; and
• be unable to afford health insurance based on government guidelines.

NYC Care says it serves people regardless of immigration status or ability to pay, that NYC Health + Hospitals does not record immigration status, and that no application information is shared with immigration officials. People who are eligible for insurance are directed to MetroPlusHealth, the system's own health plan. Anyone who qualifies for neither may be able to receive services through the NYC Health + Hospitals Options program.

What it costs

There are no membership fees, monthly fees or premiums. You pay for services you receive at reduced rates set by your family size and income, and NYC Care says those fees start at $0. Your membership card shows your fees. NYC Care also lists dental care, emergency care and hospital stays as available on a sliding fee basis. It does not publish a fee table, so ask what a primary care visit, a psychiatry visit and a prescription would cost at your income level.

How mental health and psychiatry fit in

NYC Care is built around primary care. Its services page says your primary care provider coordinates your care, including medication, and that specialty services need a referral from that provider. Psychiatry appears in its list of specialty care. On mental health it says your primary care provider can support you and can refer you to "the right mental and behavioral health specialist, like a social worker, therapist or psychiatrist."

NYC Health + Hospitals separately says it has behavioral health outpatient services at its 11 hospitals, for all ages, regardless of immigration status and ability to pay. Appointments are made at 1-844-NYC-4NYC.

The gap is ADHD itself. No NYC Care or NYC Health + Hospitals page reviewed for this article says that its adult clinics evaluate adults for ADHD, or describes how its prescribers handle stimulant medication. That does not mean they do not. It means you should ask before you assume.

NYC Care compared with other routes

The hospital financial assistance rule is worth knowing about if you live outside the five boroughs or use a private hospital. Public Health Law 2807-k(9-a) requires general hospitals to have financial aid policies for low-income people without insurance or with too little. For patients with income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, the hospital must "waive all charges" for covered services, with no nominal payment. Between 200 and 400 percent, a sliding scale applies, capped at a share of what Medicaid would have paid. Immigration status cannot be an eligibility criterion. The policy covers emergency services for New York residents and medically necessary services for residents of the hospital's primary service area. It does not mention ADHD, and it does not reach a private psychiatrist's office bill.

How to enroll

NYC Care lists three ways: meet with an NYC Health + Hospitals financial counselor, meet with or call a MetroPlusHealth representative, or go to an approved community-based partner. The NYC Care line is 1-646-NYC-CARE (1-646-692-2273). Be ready to show:

• proof of identity, such as a passport, IDNYC, a foreign ID or a driver's license;
• proof of income, such as pay stubs from the last four weeks or an employment letter;
• proof of address, such as a utility bill from the last 90 days or a lease; and
• an insurance eligibility determination, if you already have one from NY State of Health.

NYC Care says that if you cannot provide some documents, it may still be able to help you enroll. Membership is renewed every 12 months after a financial counselor screens you again for insurance eligibility. NYC Care also says members get a first appointment in two weeks or less.

Questions to ask before you book

• Can my primary care provider refer me to adult psychiatry for an ADHD evaluation, and which clinic would that be?
• Do your adult psychiatry clinicians evaluate adults for ADHD who were never diagnosed as children?
• If ADHD is diagnosed, will your prescribers consider stimulant medication, non-stimulant medication, or both?
• Do you require outside testing first, and would that be covered under NYC Care fees?
• What will a psychiatry visit and a monthly prescription cost at my income?

It also helps to arrive prepared. How to prepare for an adult ADHD evaluation explains what to bring, and what to do while you wait covers the time before your visit.

If things feel urgent

ADHD on its own is not an emergency, but a crisis can happen alongside it. NYC Health + Hospitals says most of its hospitals have a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program open 24 hours a day, and that it runs Behavioral Health Virtual ExpressCare, a 24/7 video or phone service for urgent concerns that are not emergencies. NYC 988 (call or text 988) offers free, confidential support at any hour. More options are in mental health crisis lines in New York.

Where private care fits

Other lower-cost options, including training clinics and community health centers, are compared in lower-cost adult ADHD care in New York, and medication prices are covered in what ADHD medication costs in New York. Dr. Shershow is a private psychiatrist who focuses on adult ADHD and is not part of NYC Care. If you are considering private care, the office can tell you the current fees and how insurance works with the practice; see fees and insurance or adult ADHD care in New York City.