About the Poverty Tracker Launched in 2012, the Poverty Tracker surveys a representative sample of New Yorkers several times throughout the year, providing critical information on the dynamics of poverty and other forms of disadvantage in the city. Unlike other surveys, the Poverty Tracker explores how New Yorkers experi- ence poverty and material hardship over time, rather than in a single day, month, or year. In addition, the Poverty Tracker focuses on more than income poverty; annually, the study collects data on other core measures of disadvantage, such as material hardships and health problems. We use these alternative measures to understand how certain forms of disadvantage, or multiple, overlapping forms of disadvantage, make it harder for New Yorkers to get by. The Poverty Tracker also collects data on other aspects related to New Yorkers’ well-being, from asset and debt accumulation, to so- cial service program utilization, to spending and consumption patterns, in order to form a better understanding of how New Yorkers are faring within the city. Our Approach For this report, we follow changes in the healthcare experiences of New Yorkers with high healthcare need. We define high need as having multiple chronic health conditions, a work-limiting health condition, or seri- ous psychological distress (see text box). 3
High healthcare need (high need)
Multiple chronic health conditions
Two or more of the following self-reported chronic health conditions: asthma, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart disease A health problem or disability that prevents one from working or limits the kind or amount of work one can do A value of 13 or greater on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), which indicates serious psychological distress
Work-limiting health condition
Serious psychological distress
Our analysis compares the experiences of high-need individuals across two distinct time periods of the COVID-19 pandemic. We define the “peak” period as 2021–2022, when pandemic-related disruptions in healthcare were most pronounced, and the “waning” period as 2023–2024, when those disruptions began to recede. 4 Grouping responses this way allows us to examine how healthcare access and utilization have shifted as New York City moved from crisis response toward recovery. We define housing hardship as having experienced at least one of the following in a given year: (1) moving in with others due to cost, (2) staying in a shelter or another place of temporary housing for more than one night, or (3) being unable to pay the full amount of rent or mortgage.
3 For each individual, high-need classification is based on their health conditions in the first year of each period. 4 We restrict our analysis to individuals who responded to surveys in both years of a given period. For example, if an individual was included in the 2021 survey but not in the 2022 survey, they were dropped from the analysis.
HOW HOUSING IS LINKED TO HEALTHCARE ACCESS AMONG NEW YORKERS SINCE THE PANDEMIC 4
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