Kew Gardens: why Borough Hall is the wrong door for Medicare cost programs

Kew Gardens has Queens Borough Hall, the county courthouse, and a lot of prewar apartment buildings full of people who have handled their own paperwork for fifty years. When a Medicare premium question comes up, the instinct is to walk down Queens Boulevard to the big government building. It does not help. Borough Hall houses the Borough President's office; the Medicare Savings Programs are HRA's, Extra Help is Social Security's, and the free counselor is reached by phone or by a short F train ride to Jamaica. This page saves the walk.

ZIP 11415 covers most of Kew Gardens, between the Van Wyck, the Grand Central Parkway, and Forest Park. Blocks toward Briarwood or Richmond Hill may carry another ZIP. Approximate; verify with USPS. The county is "Queens."

• HIICAP: 1-800-701-0501. Say "Queens." Free, confidential, no sales.
• 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 Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike take the F a few stops east toward 179th Street. Book through NYC Aging Connect at 212-244-6469 (ask for HIICAP).

HRA, the citywide agency, handles Medicaid and the Medicare Savings Programs. The HRA Medicaid Helpline is 1-888-692-6116. HRA's Queens office locations are on nyc.gov/hra, and none of them is inside Borough Hall.

1. Decide which question you are asking. "Why is Part B still coming out of my check?" is a Medicare Savings Program question for HRA. "Why are my prescriptions so expensive?" is an Extra Help question for Social Security, and an MSP approval brings Extra Help with it. "Do I qualify for anything at all?" is a HIICAP question, and the counselor will not be offended by it.
2. Check the income bands. 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. Federal materials on medicare.gov also describe a middle tier called SLMB; New York's QMB band already covers that range, so the state does not list SLMB separately. Do not let the missing letters confuse you.
3. Call HIICAP with a Social Security letter and any pension statements. Ask specifically about QI if your income is above the Medicaid line; it is the program people in Kew Gardens most often miss.
4. File DOH-4328 with HRA with copies of the Medicare card, ID, income proof, and an address document.
5. For Extra Help without an MSP, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.

• Going to Queens Borough Hall with the paperwork. It is the borough's civic center, not a Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security office. Staff there will send you to the phone numbers on this page.
• Reading "SLMB" in a federal pamphlet and concluding New York does not offer it. New York offers QMB and QI; the state's QMB limit is set high enough that the federal SLMB band falls inside it.
• Assuming a long-time tenant with modest savings is "over the limit." Savings do not count for QMB or QI in New York. Only monthly income does.

Queens Borough Hall on Queens Boulevard is the neighborhood's landmark and, again, not an application office. Long Island Jewish Forest Hills is the nearest large hospital, north on Queens Boulevard. The Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike station (E, F) is the way to the counselor in Jamaica.