How Does a Prison Care for Aging Inmates with Dementia?

June 27, 2018 | Strategic Insights for Health System

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​How best to care for prisoners with dementia is yet another question the country must answer as the older population increases rapidly, according to a June 19, 2018, article in Reuters. In California, the article said, 7% of the state's inmates were over the age of 55 in 2016. Twenty years earlier, people over 55 represented just 1% of the state's prison population. Medical care for older inmates costs significantly more than care for younger inmates. A recent report by the state of Georgia, cited in the Reuters article, found that it costs $8,500 a year to provide medical care for an inmate over the age of 65 and $950 for a younger inmate's care. Across the country, 44% of inmates over the age of 50 have disabilities, and about 20% have cognitive disabilities, the article said.

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