Forest Hills: Medicare cost programs for people living on a pension near Austin Street

Forest Hills has a large population of retired teachers, transit workers, and city employees living in co-ops between Austin Street and the Grand Central Parkway, plus long-time homeowners in the Gardens and Cord Meyer. Many have a pension on top of Social Security, which usually puts them above the Medicaid line but not always above the Medicare Savings Program line, and rarely above the EPIC line. This page is about finding out which programs a Forest Hills household should ask about, and who answers the question for free.

ZIP 11375 covers nearly all of Forest Hills, from the Rego Park border east past the 71st Avenue–Continental station to the Kew Gardens line. Boundaries are approximate; verify with USPS. The county for any form is "Queens," and the Long Island Rail Road stop in the neighborhood does not change that.

• HIICAP: 1-800-701-0501. Say "Queens" when asked for your county. Ask the counselor to run through the Medicare Savings Programs, Extra Help, and EPIC in one conversation; that is normal for them.
• NY Connects: 1-800-342-9871 (Relay 7-1-1).
• Nearest in-person site: India Home, 178-36 Wexford Terrace, 2nd floor, Jamaica, NY 11432, 917-288-7600, weekdays 9 to 5, by appointment. From 71st Avenue take the F toward Jamaica to 169th Street; the site is off Hillside Avenue. Book through NYC Aging Connect at 212-244-6469 (ask for HIICAP).

Applications for the Medicare Savings Programs from Forest Hills go to HRA, the citywide Medicaid agency, not to any office in the neighborhood. The HRA Medicaid Helpline is 1-888-692-6116. HRA's Queens office locations are on nyc.gov/hra.

1. Add up monthly income for yourself, or for you and your spouse if you live together: Social Security before the Medicare deduction, pension, any annuity or rental income. Savings and the value of a co-op or house do not count for the Medicare Savings Programs in New York.
2. Compare against the year's limits. For 2026 the state lists QMB at $1,836 a month for one person and $2,489 for a couple, and QI at $2,474 and $3,355 (health.ny.gov). Many Forest Hills pensioners fall in the QI band, which pays the Part B premium only.
3. If you are over the QI limit, check EPIC. EPIC is for New Yorkers 65 and older 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. Call HIICAP with those numbers and your medication list. The counselor will say which applications are worth filing and in what order.
5. File DOH-4328 with HRA for QMB or QI, with copies of your Medicare card, ID, income proof, and an address document. Extra Help follows automatically if the MSP is approved.

• Stopping at "I have a pension, so I will not get anything." The QI limit is higher than most people expect, and EPIC's limit is far higher. A Forest Hills couple with two modest pensions can be under one of them.
• Asking a co-op's on-site social worker or a NORC program to file the application. They can help organize the papers, and that is valuable, but the application goes to HRA under your name and signature.
• Thinking the LIRR station puts you in Nassau County. Forest Hills is in Queens County. Writing anything else on a county line delays the application.

Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, on 66th Road just off Queens Boulevard, is the neighborhood hospital. The Forest Hills–71st Avenue station (E, F, M, R) is the way to the in-person counselor in Jamaica. Neither is an application office.