Privilege Care Offers Immigrants Low-Cost Health Care

The Privilege Care medical clinic in Elmhurst, Queens, offers a private, low-cost alternative for undocumented immigrants who do not qualify for Medicare and Medicaid and receive little to no preventive care, but few immigrants know about the clinic.

“We’re not looking to make money off of people who don’t have money,” said Joshua Farkovitz, 29, administrator of Privilege Care, which opened in September 2006. “We offer access to care for a reasonable price,” he said.

Farkovitz said Privilege Care offers high-level patient care where patients’ wait time is less than 45 minutes, as opposed to Elmhurst Hospital, where a walk-in visitor can wait between two and seven hours before receiving care.

Farkovitz said he takes whatever patients can afford to pay. He said he breaks even, charging what it costs to provide a service to “cash-only” patients, who do not have an insurance provider.

“We’ll take $20, we’ll take $10 if that’s what they have,” he said.

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