The prevalence of chronic illnesses, communicable diseases and severe mental disorders among people in jail and prison is far greater than among other people of comparable ages. ^[1]   Significant illnesses afflicting corrections populations include coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, chronic lung disease, HIV infection, hepatitis B and C, other sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, chronic renal failure, physical disabilities, and many types of cancer. ^[2]   There are also increasing numbers of frail elderly prisoners who suffer from dementia, strokes, or other debilitating conditions: as of 2002, 121,000 people age 50 and older were in state or federal prisons, more than twice as many as a decade earlier, according to the US Justice Department. ^[3]   The average cost of housing an inmate over 60, has been estimated at $70,000 a year, or about three times the average cost for prisoners overall, largely because of health care expenses. ^[4]   Based upon the known prevalence of chronic illnesses among people who are incarcerated, it can be conservatively estimated that at least one-third of the over 600,000 people released each year from state and federal prisons have an identified chronic illness that should be evaluated further or treated on a long-term basis. ^[5]