Astoria: a HIICAP counselor on 30th Drive, and what to bring when you go

Astoria is one of four Queens neighborhoods with an NYC Aging HIICAP site on the citywide list, which means a resident of the Astoria Houses, a Ditmars two-family, or a Steinway Street walk-up can sit across a table from a counselor and go through the Medicare Savings Programs, Extra Help, and EPIC with the actual papers in hand. This page is about using that appointment well: what to bring, what the counselor can and cannot do, and where the application goes afterward.

Astoria's ZIPs are 11102 (west, toward the river), 11103 (central, around Steinway Street), 11105 (Ditmars and the north), and 11106 (south, toward Long Island City). All approximate; blocks near Woodside or Long Island City may carry another ZIP. Verify with USPS. The county is "Queens."

• In-person site in the neighborhood: RAICES/Astoria Senior Center, 21-21 30th Drive, Astoria, NY 11102, 718-726-9642, weekdays 9 to 4, by appointment. A few blocks from the 30th Avenue station (N, W). Call the site or NYC Aging Connect at 212-244-6469 (ask for HIICAP) before going.
• HIICAP by phone: 1-800-701-0501. Say "Queens." Same program, same training, and interpreters on request.
• NY Connects: 1-800-342-9871 (Relay 7-1-1).

The counselor does not file the application; HRA does. The HRA Medicaid Helpline is 1-888-692-6116, and HRA's Queens office locations are on nyc.gov/hra. If you live in a NYCHA development, your rent statement is a good address document.

1. Bring to the appointment: your Medicare card, your Medicaid card if you have one, the latest Social Security benefit letter or statement, any pension statements, a list of your medications, and any letter from HRA or Social Security you did not understand.
2. The counselor compares your monthly income to the year's limits. For 2026, health.ny.gov lists QMB at $1,836 (one) and $2,489 (couple) a month and QI at $2,474 and $3,355, with no resource test in New York.
3. If you are 65 or older and above those lines, EPIC comes up. It is for New Yorkers with annual income below $75,000 single or $100,000 married who are in a Part D plan and do not have full Medicaid (health.ny.gov). The EPIC Helpline is 1-800-332-3742 (TTY 1-800-290-9138).
4. You leave with a plan: which form to file (DOH-4328 for QMB or QI, a Social Security application for Extra Help, an EPIC application) and what copies to attach.
5. File with HRA and keep the confirmation. Extra Help follows an approved MSP automatically.

• Expecting the counselor on 30th Drive to submit the application for you. HIICAP counsels; HRA, Social Security, and EPIC decide. The counselor will point you to the right door but does not walk through it for you.
• Walking over without calling. NYC Aging lists the Astoria site as by appointment, and counselor days change. Call 718-726-9642 or Aging Connect first.
• Trusting a caller who offers to "review your Medicare costs." HIICAP never calls you unprompted and never sells anything. You call them.

Mount Sinai Queens on 30th Avenue is the neighborhood hospital. The 30th Avenue station on the N and W is the closest subway to the counseling site. Neither takes applications.