Free Cancer Screening in NYC, New Jersey and Connecticut

These are the current recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for people at average risk. Your clinician may suggest starting earlier if you have symptoms, a family history or other risk factors.

• Breast: a mammogram every two years from 40 to 74.
• Cervical: a Pap test every three years from 21 to 29. From 30 to 65, a Pap test every three years, an HPV test every five years, or both together every five years.
• Colorectal: everyone 45 to 75. There are several kinds of tests, from at-home stool tests to colonoscopy, and they differ in how often you repeat them and what follow-up an abnormal result needs.
• Lung: a low-dose CT scan every year from 50 to 80 if you have a 20 pack-year smoking history and still smoke or quit within the past 15 years.
• Prostate: for men 55 to 69, whether to have a PSA test is an individual decision after talking through the benefits and harms with a clinician. The Task Force names African American race, older age and family history as the most important risk factors, so it is a conversation worth having with your clinician.

New York's Cancer Services Program (CSP) provides breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening and follow-up testing at no cost to New York residents who have no health insurance, or whose insurance costs could keep them from getting screened, and who meet its income and age rules. Call 1-866-442-CANCER (1-866-442-2262) to be connected to the program near you. The call is free, the line is open 24 hours a day, and staff speak Spanish. The program does not publish a single income limit, so call to check whether you qualify.

What the program covers, in its own terms:

• Breast: mammogram and clinical breast exam from 40, or younger if a New York-licensed clinician says you are at high risk.
• Cervical: Pap test, HPV test and pelvic exam, which the program lists for ages 40 and older. If you are younger, ask your local program or one of the city options below.
• Colorectal: an at-home stool test (FIT) from 45 at average risk, and colonoscopy only if a New York-licensed clinician says you are at increased or high risk.
• Follow-up: if a screening finds something abnormal, follow-up testing is free for eligible people, with a case manager.
• Treatment: if breast, cervical or colorectal cancer is found, some people can enroll in the New York State Medicaid Cancer Treatment Program for full Medicaid coverage for the whole time they are in treatment.

The program does not pay for prostate cancer screening. If a program clinician diagnoses prostate cancer, you may still be able to enroll in the Medicaid Cancer Treatment Program.

• AICF Mammogram Bus. The American-Italian Cancer Foundation's bus offers no-cost mammograms and clinical breast exams in all five boroughs, five days a week, all year. It serves women 40 to 75 who live in the city and have not had a mammogram in the past 12 months. If you have Medicare, Medicaid or other insurance, bring your card: the plan is billed, but you pay no co-pay or deductible. Call 1-877-628-9090 for an appointment. The bus schedule lists each stop.
• AICF prostate screening for Black and Caribbean men. The foundation's mobile program is aimed at African American men and men of African-Caribbean descent ages 40 to 69 who have never had prostate cancer, and offers free PSA testing with education. Program details.
• NYC Health + Hospitals. Screens uninsured patients for breast cancer and provides mammograms at sites in all five boroughs. Call 1-844-692-4692 to schedule.
• NYC Care. For New Yorkers who cannot get insurance. It covers cancer screenings such as mammograms on a sliding scale that starts at $0. Call 646-NYC-CARE (646-692-2273).
• Not sure where to start? The city health department says to call 311 to find a Health + Hospitals clinic near you and see whether you qualify for low- or no-cost care.
• Prostate peer education. The state funds peer education and help deciding about prostate screening for people at high risk, with a focus on Black New Yorkers. In the city: the Institute for Family Health in the Bronx (347-714-2505) and Weill Cornell in Brooklyn (646-962-2976).

Our New York City care page also lists Black doctors, community health centers and free mammogram locations by borough.

The New Jersey Cancer Education and Early Detection program (NJCEED) offers free screening for breast, cervical, colorectal and prostate cancer, plus case management and help getting into treatment if something is found. You qualify if your income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty level and you are uninsured or underinsured. The program runs through 21 lead agencies, at least one in every county. Call 1-800-328-3838, then press 3, or contact a screening location directly:

In Newark, University Hospital and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School also run a mobile mammogram program, Mammography in Motion, for women 40 and older. It accepts Medicaid and Medicare, and uninsured women may qualify for help through the SAVE program. Call 973-97BREAST (973-972-7327).

Connecticut's Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program offers its services free through providers across the state. You may qualify if you are 21 to 64 (clinical breast exam and Pap test from 21; mammogram from 40, or 35 to 39 with symptoms or certain risk factors), your income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty level, and you have no insurance, insurance that excludes routine Pap tests or mammograms, a deductible of $1,000 or more, or no Medicare Part B. Call the Department of Public Health at 860-509-7804 or a local program: Hartford HealthCare (860) 972-3078, St. Francis Hospital (860) 714-7151, Yale New Haven Hospital (203) 688-2219 or Bridgeport Hospital (203) 384-3392.

For colorectal cancer, the state's program cannot pay for the first screening test, but it does pay for a no-cost follow-up colonoscopy after a positive at-home stool test if you are 45 to 75, at or below 250% of the poverty level, and uninsured or on a plan with a deductible of $1,000 or more. Participating sites include Bridgeport Hospital (203-384-3392), Danbury Hospital (203-739-4770), Hartford Hospital (860-972-3078), Cornell Scott Hill Health Center in New Haven (203-503-3000) and the Fairhaven Federally Qualified Health Center in New Haven (203-777-7411, ext. 5011).

We did not find a free lung cancer screening program in any of the three states. Low-dose CT screening is a covered benefit under most New York plans, including New York Medicaid, and Medicare covers it until age 77. New York's health department links a screening locator. In Connecticut, if you are uninsured or have a high-deductible plan, email DPH-lungcancerscreening@ct.gov or call 860-509-7804 to ask about free or low-cost options. Free help quitting: 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487) in New York and 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) in Connecticut.

Most plans, including Medicaid and plans bought through New York State of Health, cover breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening at no cost to you. If a stool test comes back positive, federal rules also require most plans to cover the follow-up colonoscopy without cost sharing. Our guide to appealing an insurance denial walks through what to do if a plan says no.