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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Here's how more money for prison health care could help keep you safe.

North Carolina is constitutionally required to provide medical, mental and dental care for people in its 53 prisons. The goal is to help people safely transition to life back home, reducing the risk they will wind up back behind bars.

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A fiscal analyst says healthcare costs are rising nationwide and that prisons are seeing the impacts. A lot of people in prison have pre-existing conditions, and paying for certain medications can be expensive. North Carolina's prison population is also aging with more people over 60 than in years past. Those variables are leading to a 9% rise in costs in the past five years. North Carolina's General Assembly is now allocating more money to prison health care in the annual budget. But state officials want even more funds to help those with mental health issues or substance use disorders.

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