The Burgeoning Health Care Needs of Aging Prisoners

Abstract

We estimate the increasing health care needs of American inmates by combining data on inmate demographics and national health trends. Decades of harsh punishment combined with demographic shifts have led to a “greying” prison population that is a source of concern for policymakers. Our estimates reveal that inmate health care needs are significant and growing beyond what is predicted by their age profile. While the fraction of inmates aged 40 or more increased by 49 percent between 1996 and 2004, the prevalence of medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and cancer among inmates grew between 177 and 268 percent.