The Social Medicine Portal

HITE: A Resource for Free and Low Cost Health Care in NYC

Health Information Tool for Empowerment is an excellent website maintained by the Greater New York Hospital Association and sponsored by a number of foundations and corporations.  This site is useful both for people who need services and for providers who help patients with inadequate or no insurance.

This website has a very extensive list of resources.  For example, it lists 170 dental providers and 687 clinics.  Each listing provides detailed information about the provider, including address, phone, services provided and even links to provider web pages.  It is also possible to search for providers by zip code and distance you are willing to travel.  The site also has a help phone number: (866) 370-HITE.

Here is a description of the site taken from their FAQ page:

The Health Information Tool for Empowerment (HITE) is the first online directory of health and social services specifically for uninsured and under-insured New Yorkers. With the click of a mouse, HITE allows professionals to link their underserved clients with a broad array of health and support services.

HITE has two components:

Resource Directory. A comprehensive directory containing thousands of national, state, and local organizations and programs available to low-income, under-insured, and uninsured people, as well as links to dozens of Web sites that provide information on everything from how to apply for public health insurance to where you can get free or low-cost medications.

Eligibility Calculator. Eligibility screening tool for public health insurance, private health insurance, and other public benefits programs. HITE links to two screening tools. The NYC Human Resources Administration pre-screening tool helps determine whether their clients meet the basic eligibility requirements for one of New York’s publicly funded health insurance programs: Medicaid, Child Health Plus (CHP), and Family Health Plus (FHP); or for a low-cost private insurance program. ACCESS NYC, sponsored by the City of New York Mayor’s Office screens for eligibility for public health insurance and other public benefits/government entitlements.

This posting is one in a series on free and low cost health care.

Posted by Matt Anderson, MD