ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State spent a record $450.6 million on prison healthcare in 2025, according to a February report by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, even as the aging incarcerated population driving these costs reoffends at some of the lowest rates in the system and continues to be denied parole at increasing rates.
The Release Aging People in Prison Campaign, a prison reform advocacy group, is calling on Albany to pass the Elder Parole and Fair & Timely Parole bills, arguing the state is paying a fortune to incarcerate people who pose little risk to public safety.
The cost of healthcare spending per person in state prisons rose from $5,850 in 2013 to $13,923 in 2025, a 138 percent increase, the Comptroller’s report found. Federal law disallows states from using Medicaid or Medicare funds for incarcerated people, meaning New York bears the full cost of prison healthcare entirely on its own, with the exception of inpatient hospital services.
The oldest incarcerated age groups are growing even as New York’s overall prison population shrinks. Those age 60 and older increased in number in 2025 compared with five years ago, making up nearly 9 percent of the total prison population, according to the report.
Older incarcerated individuals disproportionately comprise an unhealthy prison population. Upward of 73 percent have chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes, compared with 31 percent of the general population.
Despite the rising costs, data suggests the state is spending the most on those least likely to reoffend. According to the Comptroller’s report, the three-year recidivism rate for new felony offenses is 3.3 percent for those ages 60 to 69 and just 1.7 percent for those 70 and older — among the lowest in the entire system.
Yet the share of older incarcerated individuals granted parole has declined, with the Board of Parole’s discretionary release rate for those age 50 and older falling from 57.2 percent in 2019 to 48.9 percent in 2024.
Jose Saldaña, director of the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign and a survivor of 38 years in New York State prisons, argued that lawmakers must pass both bills, stating that forcing rehabilitated older adults to remain incarcerated costs the state a fortune while delivering no meaningful public safety benefit, according to a statement from RAPP.
The Elder Parole bill would allow incarcerated individuals age 55 and older who have served at least 15 years to appear before the Parole Board for individualized review.
The Fair & Timely Parole bill would require the Board to evaluate people based on who they are today rather than solely on the nature of their conviction, creating a presumption of release unless an individual poses an unreasonable risk to public safety, according to RAPP.
The Center for Justice at Columbia University estimates that enacting both bills would save $522 million annually.
New York remains among the states without any form of elder parole, even as 24 states have already enacted such measures.
Advocates argue that continuing to incarcerate an aging, low-risk population at record costs is not only fiscally irresponsible but also a failure of humane governance. With the Comptroller’s report now on the table, the pressure on Albany to act is growing.
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Categories: Breaking News Everyday Injustice Tags: aging prisoners Criminal Justice Reform elder parole New York Prisons parole reform prison healthcare costs