Medicaid is a federal healthcare program available throughout New York State. The program is designed to help low-income families, children, pregnant women, seniors, and individuals with disabilities obtain medical care at little to no cost. Keep on reading to find out what services you can have covered if you are eligible for Medicaid in Syracuse and where to apply.
How Do I Apply For Medicaid in Syracuse?
If you reside in Syracuse, Onondaga County, you can apply for Medicaid either online, in person, or by phone, depending on the category you belong to. The enrollment for Medicaid is open throughout the year.
Applying through the Local Department of Social Services
The following Syracuse residents need to apply to Medicaid through the Onondaga County Department of Social Services (DSS):
- Anyone over the age of 65 who is not a parent or caretaker relative of a Medicaid beneficiary, when age is a condition of eligibility
- People whose Medicaid eligibility is based on being disabled or blind
- Individuals requesting coverage for Community Based Long Term Care Services (CBLTC)
- Beneficiaries of the Medicare Savings Program (MSP)
- Enrollees in the Medicaid Buy-In For Working People With Disabilities (MBI-WPD) program
- Residents of treatment center/community residences operated by the Office of Mental Health (OMH)
- Women who fall under the Medicaid eligibility category of Presumptive Eligibility for Pregnant Women.
Address:
Onondaga County Department of Social Services
421 Montgomery Street
Syracuse NY 13202
Phone: (315) 435-3525
Office hours: Monday – Friday, 8 am – 4 pm
Website: www.ongov.net/dss
Applying through the New York State Department of Health
You must apply for Medicaid online through the New York State Department of Health Plan Marketplace if you belong to one of these groups:
- People under the age of 65 who are not disabled are not eligible for Medicare
- Parents and caretaker relatives of Medicaid eligible individuals
- Children under the age of 18
- Pregnant women.
Phone: (855) 355-5777 / TTY: (800) 662-1220
Office hours: Monday – Friday 8 am – 8 pm, Saturday 9 am – 1 pm.
You can receive free help from the Marketplace Navigators and Certified Application Counselors (CAS) for assistance with the application process. The assistors are culture sensitive and provide help in several different languages at convenient times, including evenings and weekends. You can find an assistor through the Marketplace Navigator Directory.
Applying through Prenatal Care Medicaid Coverage Application Centers
Pregnant women are eligible for selective coverage for prenatal care from Medicaid in Onondaga County. To apply, you can contact one of the locations below:
St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Care
301 Prospect Ave.
Syracuse, NY 13203
Phone: (315) 448-5060
SUNY Upstate Medical University
90 Presidential Plaza
Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 464-5677
Syracuse Community Health Center
819 S. Salina St.
Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 476-7921
UHCC Women’s Health Care Service
90 Presidential Plz Ste 3121
Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 464-5210
In addition, pregnant women can apply for prenatal care services at the following locations:
Family Planning Services Syracuse
301 Slocum Ave
Syracuse, NY 13204
Phone: (315) 435-3295
Syracuse Health Center
1120 E Genesee Street
Syracuse, NY 13210
Phone: (315) 475-5540
Applying through Managed Care Organization (MCOs)
Managed care is a type of health insurance program where Medicaid contracts with Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) to deliver its services to beneficiaries. You can apply for Medicaid directly through a managed care organization. For more information about Medicaid enrollment through managed care programs, contact New York Medicaid CHOICE enrollment program.
Phone: (585) 753-6702 or (800) 505-5678
What Services Does Medicaid Provide for Residents in Syracuse?
Syracuse residents are eligible for a wide range of benefits offered by Medicaid New York.
On the one hand, the program covers all the mandatory medical benefits common for all states, including:
- Regular medical checkups
- Follow-up care
- Laboratory tests
- X-ray services
- Medicine
- Medical supplies
- Medical equipment
- Immunizations
- Drug prescriptions
- Smoking cessation agents
- Emergency care
- Hospital inpatient and outpatient services
- Prenatal care
- Family planning services
- Early periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment for children
- Treatment in psychiatric hospitals, mental health facilities, and facilities for the mentally retarded or the developmentally disabled individuals.
On the other hand, Medicaid offers some additional health services to the New York State residents, including anyone living in Syracuse:
- Long-term care coverage for the elderly who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility. The long-term health care services and costs covered by Medicaid in Onondaga County include adult day care, housekeeping, physical therapy, Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), transportation, and more.
- Essential dental, auditory, and vision care, including eye exams, medically necessary eyeglasses, and contact lenses. You can get your costs covered only if you visit a Medicaid-approved medical provider and if your medications are Medicaid plan-approved.
- Home care services. These services are often more affordable and more accessible than traditional long-term care facilities such as nursing homes. Home care services covered by Medicaid for Syracuse residents are caregiver fees, home safety modifications, housekeeping, personal care assistance, transportation, and more.
- Nutrition services such as nutrition counseling, dietician fees, as well as the cost of having a personalized health and nutrition plan developed.
- Children and teenagers can receive Medicaid coverage through the Children’s Medicaid program that covers medical costs, most doctor’s visits, dentist appointments, eye exams, speech therapy, pediatric care, and emergency care, for example.
Medical transportation
Medicaid covers emergency and non-emergency medical transportation to and from medical care and services in Syracuse by public transportation, car, taxi, wheelchair van, or ambulance. However, it is necessary to obtain the approval of the Department of Social Services in advance, in order to ensure that the mode of transportation is appropriate to the patient’s medical needs and that the least costly appropriate transportation is used.
There are many non-emergency transportation services that offer transport by taxi, bus, ambulatory vehicle, or ambulance in Syracuse, such as:
Jordan-Elbridge Transportation Program (JET)
Phone: (315) 604-1322
Highland Patient Transportation
Phone: (315) 254-6287
St. Camillus Medical Transportation Services
Phone: (315) 703-0752
Band Aid Personal Care Transportation Service
Phone: (315) 863-6938
Email: bandaid609@yahoo.com
ACR Health Medical Transportation
Phone: (315) 475-2430
If you prefer not to contact these companies directly, you can call Medical Answering Services (MAS) at (585) 288-4680. They will arrange transport with one of the Syracuse medical transportation companies that offer non-emergency transportation.
If you need emergency medical transportation, you should call 911. Emergency transport services are covered by Medicaid throughout the State of New York, including Onondaga County, regardless of the ambulance transport provider.
Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP)
The Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) is available to Medicaid recipients in Syracuse. The program allows elderly, disabled, and chronically ill individuals to designate almost anyone among their family members and friends as their caretakers who will assist them with tasks of daily living and/or skilled nursing care. The CDPAP makes it possible for Syracuse residents to continue living in their homes and receive care from people they know well instead of residing in an assisted living facility.
Location of the Medicaid Office in Syracuse
In some cases, you may want to contact the Onondaga County Medicaid office in person, for example:
- If you need assistance to fill out your Medicaid application form
- If you have any questions regarding your Medicaid eligibility
- If you were denied Medicaid benefits
- If you wish to renew your Medicaid enrollment
- If you need to show proof that you are enrolled in Medicaid.
Before visiting the office, make sure to call and schedule an appointment. You should also bring the necessary documentation to show that you meet all Medicaid eligibility requirements, such as:
- Birth certificates for all persons who are applying
- Social Security Card for all persons who are applying
- Proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or immigration records
- Veteran Discharge papers (where applicable)
- Verification of all income, including your wages, Social Security, pensions, veteran’s benefits, and interest or dividends
- Depending on your particular circumstances, you may need to show proof of resources, such as your bank account statements, trust funds, insurance, CDs, burial accounts, vehicles, property, and so on
- Medicare and other health insurance cards, including verification of premium cost. If you already have another type of health insurance, you are not required to cancel it before applying for Medicaid. In some cases, Medicaid may pay the premiums on your existing policy.
The Medicaid office in Syracuse is located at the following address:
Onondaga County Department of Social Services
421 Montgomery St.
Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: (315) 435-3525
Office hours: Monday-Friday 8 am – 4 pm
Website: www.ongov.net/dss
If you’re not certain whether you qualify for Medicaid or not, you can call and schedule an interview with a Department of Social Services representative who will help you determine your eligibility.
General inquiries about Medicaid
For any general, non state-related questions about Medicaid, providing feedback about the program, or reporting fraud, you should contact the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Baltimore, Maryland.
Phone: (877) 267-2323
Email: medicaid.gov@cms.hhs.gov
Website: www.medicaid.gov