Between 1995 and 2004 the incarcerated population grew by 3.5% annually. During the same period, the number of inmates held in local jails increased 41% from 507,044 to 713,990. Between 1995 and 1999 the annual growth rate of inmates 66 years of age and older was 39%. Since 1980 the U.S. female incarcerated population has grown 500%.

Increasing Utilization

In 1970 there were only 650 medications on the market. Today there are more than 10,000. In the last decade the number of prescriptions written has doubled from 2 billion to 4 billion.

Increasing Expenditures

From 1998 to 2000 total U.S. pharmaceutical spending experienced increases of 15.5, 16.4 , and 20%, respectively. This outpaced the growth rates realized for overall medical costs (6.1, 9, and 12%) in the same period. In 2001 $3.3 billion, or 12% of total operating expenditures, was attributed to medical care in state prisons.