Rapidly Aging Inmate Population Increases Pressure on Minnesota’s Prison Healthcare System
TL/DR –
Minnesota’s prison system is struggling with an aging population, with nearly 1 in 5 inmates now over 50 – more than triple the figure in 1999. This has led to soaring healthcare costs, which have more than doubled to $16,273 per capita since a decade ago. The aging population is driving up medical referrals and placing a strain on the system’s capacity to provide geriatric care and manage chronic illnesses, while laws from the 1970s to 1990s that reduce parole eligibility and mandate life without parole are exacerbating the issue.
Minnesota’s Aging Prison Population Strains Health Care System
Minnesota’s largest prison, Oak Park Heights, is grappling with an increasingly elderly population, reflecting a statewide trend. Almost 20% of the incarcerated population in the state is over 50, accounting for a threefold increase since 1999. This rapid aging of the prison population has led to a surge in prison healthcare costs, which have risen 45% in the last three years.
The sharp increase in prison health care costs mirrors the broader demographic shift in Minnesota. The number of adults aged 65 and older is projected to double between 2010 and 2030, according to the Minnesota State Demographic Centre.
This growth in the elderly prison population is straining Minnesota’s prison system. Prisons are struggling to deliver adequate chronic illness management, geriatric care, and end-of-life services. One of the responses to this challenge has been the establishment of a transitional care unit at Oak Park Heights and a geriatric unit at the state prison in Faribault.
However, despite these efforts, prison healthcare costs continue to rise. Spending in this area exceeded $134 million in 2025, up from $93 million just three years earlier. Inmates aged 60 and over constitute a larger proportion of medical referrals. Complicating matters, Medicare and Medicaid rarely cover the costs of medical care provided in prisons.
Minnesota’s elderly prison population is partially the result of stringent sentencing laws enacted in previous decades. Such laws included mandatory minimum sentences, “three strikes” laws, and restricted parole eligibility. The expense of housing and caring for an aging prison population is now coming to the fore.
Prisoners have raised concerns about the declining quality of prison healthcare. Meanwhile, prison authorities acknowledge the challenges of caring for an aging population with limited resources.
Policy-makers are grappling with the complexities of this issue. Some argue for the early release of geriatric inmates who pose a low risk to public safety. However, programs that allow for early release are seldom used. The situation is further complicated by the fact that compassionate release, which allows inmates to seek early release due to extraordinary circumstances such as old age or terminal illness, is limited.
As prison healthcare costs continue to escalate and more incarcerated individuals age, Minnesota will need to reassess both compassionate release and healthcare policies. Future policy direction will largely depend on the decisions of the Legislature.
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