New York · Help at home

Help at home in New York: how Medicaid home care, NYIA, MLTC, and NYC Aging services actually work

A discharge planner says “MLTC.” A neighbor says “get an aide through Medicaid.” A senior center says “call the Office for the Aging.” All of those are real, and they are not the same path. This site lays out the steps in order, with the free official numbers first.

Free to use
Not a home care agency
Not the government

Start: which path am I on?Call NY Connects 1-800-342-9871

NY Connects is free, for any age, on Medicaid or not (Relay 7-1-1). HIICAP handles the Medicare side at 1-800-701-0501.

The first question

Does the person have Medicaid, or could they? That decides the path, not “how many hours” or “which agency.”

Photo: Prospect1997, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Start here

Which one sounds like you?

The short version

Medicaid home care, in the order it happens

Three steps most families go through. The full walkthrough covers each one, including the letters you get along the way.

1
Medicaid first
Home care through Medicaid needs an active Medicaid case. In New York City that runs through HRA; elsewhere, through your county. Without Medicaid, adults 60 and older can ask NYC Aging or the county Office for the Aging instead.
2
The NYIA assessment
The New York Independent Assessor Program schedules two appointments and sends an outcome letter. It decides whether you can get home care, not how many hours.
3
A plan authorizes hours
Your Medicaid managed care plan, or a Managed Long Term Care plan chosen through New York Medicaid Choice, does its own care plan and sets the hours. That is where the service actually starts.

Read the full walkthrough Who to call for what

Help where you live

Your borough, your county name, and what happens after you call

The programs are the same across New York. The practical parts change by borough: which county goes on the form, how HRA and NYC Aging work from where you live, and the mistakes families in your area tend to make.

All boroughs and neighborhoods