Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration has extended a pilot program that provides free health care to sex workers in New York, bringing the expected taxpayer cost to nearly $2.5 million.
The state Health Department first awarded $1 million in public funds in 2023 to two contractors under the program, which was created as part of Hochul’s effort to expand health care access for people in the sex trade. Newly reviewed documents show the pilot is now set to continue through June 2028, with another $1.5 million in planned spending.
The program covers sex workers in New York City and the Buffalo area, giving them access to primary care, sexual health services, behavioral health care, and dental care.
The extension has drawn sharp criticism from Republicans, who argue the program was created without approval from the state Legislature and amounts to taxpayer support for prostitution. Some also accused Hochul of trying to appease Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other left-wing Democrats who support decriminalizing sex work.
“The lengths by which New York Democrats will cater to the far left has no greater example than Gov. Hochul funding healthcare for hookers to the tune of millions while actual frontline healthcare workers . . . live on food stamps,” said state Assemblyman Michael Novakhov, a Brooklyn Republican. He was referring to complaints from emergency medical workers who say their pay is so low that some must rely on public assistance.
“Instead of playing pimp, Kathy ‘Ho-Ho’ Hochul and Mayor ‘Madam’ Mamdani should consider making sure the heroes who answer 911 calls and save lives every day can afford their rent and groceries,” Novakhov said.
State Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo, a Staten Island Republican, also criticized the program and said Hochul is “absolutely catering” to Mamdani and Democratic Socialists of America-backed lawmakers who have pushed proposals to decriminalize sex work.
“She is a target and trying to keep them at bay with other people’s money,” Pirozzolo said, referring to Hochul’s re-election campaign.
“The governor likes to say, ‘New York is open for business.’ We are open for business . . . but it’s the business of selling needles and marijuana, . . . prostitution and other business that is bad business for New York,” he added.
Pirozzolo argued that sex workers already have access to free services through health clinics, including treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, and abortion care, and said a separate health care program is unnecessary.
Under the extended pilot, Callen-Lorde and EHS Inc./Evergreen Health will each continue receiving $250,000 per year to provide medical services through the Health Department’s AIDS Institute.
The original agreement expired last year. In September, however, the Health Department issued a legal notice saying “additional time is needed to evaluate the program.”
The same notice said the vendors were given the additional work without competitive bidding because it “was not feasible in this instance.”
Callen-Lorde, which describes itself as a “global leader in LGBTQ+ healthcare,” states on its website that it supports the decriminalization of sex work.
The Health Department defended the program’s extension, saying access to care should not depend on a person’s background or circumstances.
“All New Yorkers deserve access to quality, barrier-free health care,” the department said in a statement, adding that “the only thing driving the department’s decisions are what is best for public health and safety of New Yorkers.”
