There are approximately 2.3 million people imprisoned in the United States. Changing demographics reflect the senior citizen, baby boomer wave will deeply affect prisons.
Between 1995 and 2010 the number of prisoners aged 55 and older quadrupled, according to a 2012 Human Rights Watch study. By the year 2030 seniors are expected to account for a third of all prisoners.
Currently in California, state government is sending aged and ailing prisoners to private nursing homes. In 2010 the state passed Penal Code 6267, a law to provide long-term care for ailing prisoners. The director of communication and legislation for the Correctional Health Care Services department, Joyce Hayhoe, stated aging prisoners who have not been deemed a danger to society and needing 24-hour care are placed in private nursing homes under certain conditions.
“They can’t leave the facility, of course. They’re considered on medical parole and assigned a parole agent,” Hayhoe added.
If a prisoner manages to improve, for instance from a vegetative or quadriplegic condition, the law allows for return to prison.
Currently in California there are only 65 individuals in this type of care, and the number fluctuates because the prisoners’ conditions are usually terminal. According to Hayhoe, there has been an increase in prisoners’ medical parole as the 55 and older population is the fastest-growing segment of prisoners.
“When you think about it, we release hundreds of people per month,” Hayhoe added. “It’s not anything new. The only thing different is we now provide payment to the nursing home and recoup that money from the federal government. It’s expensive to provide that kind of care in a prison.”
Outside of California, states have found privatization is cheaper. The state of Virginia conducted a study to determine whether to keep long-term care inside prison walls or to partner with private nursing homes. It also considered “geriatric release,” which allows offenders 60 years or older to apply for early release. The study found that Virginia would spend twice the private nursing home cost of $66,430.
States spend an average of about $70,000 per year to incarcerate prisoners 50 or older, about three times the costs to house a younger prisoner. Many prison experts agree that fewer older prisoners return to prison after release. Many states have “compassionate care” laws on the books, which allow the release of an ailing prisoner who, because of health status, is no longer seen as a danger to the community, but this law is rarely used.
Kyle Kaminski, a legislative liaison for the Michigan Department of Corrections, put together a report that estimated the number of prisoners in the 50 and older age bracket has increased almost 50 percent in the past 10 years. While the state housed about 600 of the older prisoners near a hospital facility, the state wanted to determine whether privatizing could better serve the prisoner population.
