Renewal Help at the NYC Health Department

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC Health Department) helps connect New Yorkers to health insurance options by enrolling and renewing their coverage. Help is available in your language, and your information will be kept private.

Medicaid, Child Health Plus, and the Essential Plan are available in these programs. You will also need to continue renewing your coverage every 12 months.

For Qualified Health Plans, beginning on June 1, you may only enroll if you experience a qualifying life event that allows you a Special Enrollment Period such as if you recently had a change in your family, income, or health insurance coverage, or during the Open Enrollment Period, which will begin on November 1 for coverage effective January 1.

General Help

You can get help from an enrollment counselor by phone or in person.

You can call the Office of Health Insurance to talk with a counselor. You can also request a call from a counselor.

For more information or to find an enrollment site near you, please visit nyc.gov/health/healthcoverage

You should have access to the following information when meeting with an in-person assistor:

• Name, address, birth date, and social security numbers of all applicants
• Immigration document numbers (if applicable)
• Employer and income information of all applicants (or any documentation showing unemployed status, if applicable)
• Health insurance policy numbers of any applicants that are already insured

The following persons can be included on your application:

• You and your spouse
• Your partner who lives with you
• Children you are caring for, who are living with you
• Anyone included on your federal income tax return

If you have enrolled in a health plan by the 15th of the month, your health insurance coverage will begin on the 1st of the following month.

If you have submitted a health insurance application through an in-person assistor, you should contact the assistor directly to find out status of your application.

If you have submitted a health insurance application on your own (or through an assistor whose name you cannot recall), you can get application status from the New York State of Health hotline.

As of 2019, consumers will not be required to pay the financial penalty fee for not having health insurance coverage.

However, if you were uninsured in 2018 and did not pay the penalty fee when filing taxes for the year, you may be advised to pay the penalty.

The penalty for not having health insurance coverage is calculated based on:

• Individual income
• Family size
• Number of months being uninsured

There are exemptions to the penalty. An in-person assistor can help figure out what the penalty may be and if you qualify for an exemption.