Some New Yorkers with physical disabilities fear the state is moving to shut down a health care company that's been a lifeline for them for the last 18 years. 

Independence Care System serves about 6,000 New Yorkers and is facing serious financial troubles. The company gets most of its funds from the state. In 2016, it ran a deficit of more than $33 million according to federal nonprofit filings.

"This is the biggest issue for our community that I have ever seen," said Alex Elegudin, co-founder of Wheeling Forward, a disability advocacy group. He spoke at a recent gathering of ICS's Civics Advocacy Group which organizes members around key issues like transportation and now, the company itself. "The news is not great but there still is hope."

Rumors of ICS's demise made their way to advocates through some of the company's workers. But neither the company nor the state would confirm whether these concerns are valid, in response to questions from WNYC. 

"The Department recognizes the unique needs of ICS members... and any discussion about potential changes in service for these individuals will carefully consider those needs," said State Health Department spokeswoman Erin Silk.

Meanwhile a group of people who rely on the care ICS provides are petitioning Albany to prevent its shutdown. ICS goes above and beyond what a regular provider does, and puts the needs of disabled New Yorkers first said Alejandra Ospina, 37, who uses a wheelchair and was born with cerebral palsy.

"You're taken seriously. You don't have that air of condescension of, 'take what you can get,'" she explained. "The people here, they approach you as a person with individual needs and tastes."

Customers like Ospina rely on more than physical care. The company's office in downtown Brooklyn serves as a de facto community center with an art studio and a meeting space. It also hosts movie and karaoke nights.

Herman Rodriguez, 56, who said he was paralyzed from the waist down after a fall from three stories, said the people he's met through ICS are like family to him and he'd hate to see it close.

"It would be terrible if this happens," he said in Spanish. "We would return to the past, to disaster, to abandon."

If the company does go under, its customers will likely be spread across other specialized insurance plans, many of which cater to the elderly.