Losing Medicaid or SNAP? NYC launches HART, a $3 million outreach team, ahead of January's federal work rules

New York City has started sending a new team of outreach workers into neighborhoods to help residents hold on to Medicaid and SNAP before federal rules make both harder to keep.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Health Department on Monday launched the Health and Affordability Resource Team, or HART, funded with $3 million in the city's Fiscal Year 2027 budget, according to the Mayor's Office. The team is made up of trained community health workers who speak a combined 13 languages, many of whom have used the same benefits themselves, backed by community groups and volunteers.

Need help now?

• Medicaid or health insurance: call 347-655-0124 to reach a Health Department enrollment counselor, or visit nyc.gov/medicaidhelp.
• SNAP: for help keeping or reapplying for benefits, call 718-762-7669 or visit nyc.gov/AccessHRA, Gothamist reports.

Why now

New federal Medicaid work requirements and extra paperwork rules take effect Jan. 1, 2027, and the city estimates as many as 900,000 New Yorkers could lose coverage. About 3.6 million city residents are on Medicaid. Under the new rules, adults under 65 will have to show they work 80 hours a month, do equivalent community service or attend school, though many people are exempt, including parents of children under 14, Gothamist reports. Enrollees will also have to recertify more often, and providers worry eligible patients could lose coverage over paperwork. State health officials are seeking an exemption for Bronx residents because of the borough's high unemployment, Gothamist notes (our earlier story).

On SNAP, expanded federal work requirements took effect March 1, and city officials say 26,500 New Yorkers have lost food benefits since then. If you lost SNAP, our earlier guide explains how the city is helping people reapply.

What HART does

Workers will help people enroll in or keep health coverage and SNAP, and connect them with cash assistance, housing help and eviction prevention, relief from hospital bills and help with everyday expenses. The city says the team will focus on neighborhoods where residents are most likely to lose Medicaid, including people who have already lost SNAP under the federal work rules.

The launch adds to Health Department outreach that the city says has reached more than 35,000 health care providers and 60,000 community and faith-based partners, with more than 50 trainings held. The department has also begun hiring more enrollment counselors.