Alan D. Aviles, HHC President	Guillermo Linares, Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs

Do not be afraid to go to the doctor, the clinic, the hospital or the emergency room. The government has not passed any new law about immigrants. Undocumented immigrants can get medical care in New York with no fear.

The Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) runs the public hospitals in New York City. We respect you and want to help you. People who work in a public hospital will not tell the Immigration Service or other law enforcement agencies your immigration status. We will not tell anyone. Our public hospitals and health centers have a long and proud history of caring for everyone. That includes people who are not legal immigrants and people who do not have money to pay for care. Our commitment is strong. It has not changed.

This is our promise to all undocumented immigrants:

HHC WILL HONOR YOUR RIGHT TO PRIVACY. WE WILL KEEP CONFIDENTIAL ALL INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR IMMIGRATION STATUS.

You have a right to quality health care. Do not let fear stop you from getting the health services you or your children need. Our public hospitals, health centers and clinics are located in neighborhoods all over New York City. Our doctors, nurses and other health care workers care about you. They speak many languages. Many of them are immigrants or children of immigrants. They all want to serve you with respect. They will all protect your privacy.

Most children and pregnant women can get health insurance. You can get it even if you are not a legal immigrant. HHC staff can help you get the insurance you need. If you do not have insurance and cannot pay a lot of money for health care, HHC will help you anyway. What you pay will be based on how much money you have and how many people are in your family. Workers at the public hospital or clinic have to ask you for some information to find out how much you should pay. They will ask you to prove how much money you earn. You will need papers to show your home address and some proof of identity and your date of birth. We will keep all of this information a secret. It will be absolutely confidential.

Our policy is clear. No HHC employee can give your patient information to ANYONE else. All of our employees know that if they break this promise they can lose their job. We understand that this is the only way that we can keep your trust. We know that we need your trust to give you and your family quality health services.

You can call 311 for a public hospital near you or visit www.nyc.gov/hhc for a list of all the HHC hospitals and health centers or to send a message to HHC President Alan Aviles or the Mayor's Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs, Guillermo Linares.

Click on the links below to download printer-ready copies of the Open Letter, available for immediate distribution in the following languages:

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