Corona: counting income correctly when you are still working past 65

Many people in Corona keep working after Medicare starts: a few shifts at a restaurant, a job in a shop on Junction Boulevard, cash work that is hard to document. That makes the Medicare Savings Program income question harder here than in a neighborhood of retirees on a fixed check. The good news is that Corona has an in-person HIICAP site on 43rd Avenue where a counselor can sit with a pay stub and a Social Security letter and work out the number. This page explains what to bring and what the counselor is looking for.

ZIP 11368 covers Corona and North Corona, from Roosevelt Avenue south to the Long Island Expressway and east to Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Approximate; verify with USPS. The county is "Queens."

• In-person site in the neighborhood: RAICES/Corona Senior Center, 102-47 43rd Avenue, Corona, NY 11368, 718-458-7259, weekdays 9 to 4, by appointment. Close to 103rd Street–Corona Plaza on the 7. 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," and ask for a Spanish or Chinese interpreter.
• NY Connects: 1-800-342-9871 (Relay 7-1-1).

HRA handles Medicaid and the Medicare Savings Programs for Corona. The HRA Medicaid Helpline is 1-888-692-6116. If your income changes from month to month, ask HRA how they want it documented before you file; it is a common question and they have an answer.

1. Bring the last few pay stubs plus the Social Security letter. Medicaid rules treat earned income and unearned income differently, and part of earnings is disregarded when the state adds things up. That is why a counselor, not a rule of thumb, should do the math.
2. The counselor compares the countable figure 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. New York applies no resource test.
3. If you are married and living together, both incomes count, even if only one of you has Medicare. The state's chart says an MSP household is always one or two people.
4. File DOH-4328 with HRA with copies of the Medicare card, ID, pay stubs, the Social Security letter, and a Corona address document.
5. If wages later drop or stop, tell HRA. A change that moves you from QI to QMB matters, because QMB also covers Medicare deductibles and coinsurance.

• Leaving cash earnings off because "there is no stub." HRA will ask about all income. Undocumented earnings can be reported with a written statement; the counselor can explain how. Leaving them off creates a bigger problem later.
• Reporting only the applicant's income when a working spouse lives in the same apartment. For an MSP the couple's income counts together.
• Going to 43rd Avenue on a day the counselor is not there. The senior center is open most weekdays but HIICAP counseling is by appointment. Call 718-458-7259 first.

There is no hospital inside Corona. NYC Health + Hospitals / Elmhurst on Broadway is the nearest public hospital, a few 7 stops west. The 103rd Street–Corona Plaza station is the stop for the counseling site. Neither takes applications.