Gov. Kathy Hochul has quietly extended a pilot program providing free healthcare to sex workers – with taxpayers footing the nearly $2.5 million bill.
The state Health Department in 2023 awarded $1 million in public funds to two contractors as part of Hochul’s plan to help the “world’s oldest profession,” but new documents reviewed by The Post show the program extending through June 2028, with $1.5 million more in costs.
Under the initiative, sex workers in NYC and the Buffalo area will continue to receive primary, sexual, behavioral, and dental care.
Critics bashed the hooker healthcare program — which was launched without state Legislature approval – for encouraging prostitution.
They also ripped the politics behind the move, accusing Hochul of extending the pilot to satisfy Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other far-left Dems who want to decriminalize prostitution.
“The lengths by which New York Democrats will cater to the far left has no greater example then 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 (R-Brooklyn), referring to a repeated gripe by EMTs that they are so poorly paid that many seek government 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,” said Novakhov.
State Assemblyman Sam Pirozzolo (R-Staten Island) agreed, claiming Hochul is “absolutely catering” to Mamdani and state Democratic Socialists of America pols peddling legislation to decriminalize sex work.
“She is a target and trying to keep them at bay [during her re-election bid] with other people’s money,” Pirozzolo said.
“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.”
Hookers seeking to deal with hazards of the trade by having abortions or taking pills for sexually transmitted diseases and birth control can easily get free assistance through health clinics for these services and don’t need a health care plan, he added.
As part of the pilot program, Callen-Lorde and EHS Inc./Evergreen Health will continue to receive yearly payments of $250,000 to provide sex workers access to medical care via the Health Department’s AIDS Institute.
The original deal expired last year, but the Health Department put out a legal notice in September saying “additional time is needed to evaluate the program.”
The vendors received the extra work without competitive bidding because it “was not feasible in this instance,” the notice said.
Callen-Lorde – who calls itself a “global leader in LGBTQ+ healthcare” — endorses the decriminalization of sex work, according to its website.
The Health Department defended the extension, insisting in a statement that “all New Yorkers deserve access to quality, barrier-free health care,” and that” the only thing driving the department’s decisions are what is best for public health and safety of New Yorkers.”
