CHARLESTON, WV - The yearly cost of providing medical services to inmates in the state Division of Corrections system has nearly tripled over the past seven years.

Officials blame general inflation in the medical industry and a growing, aging, more drug-addled inmate population.

"We're no different from the rising health care costs out in society," said Jim Rubenstein, corrections commissioner.

Seven years ago, inmate medical costs for West Virginia's prisons accounted for $7.6 million of the corrections budget, according to figures from the state Budget Office.

These costs are estimated to run about $20.8 million for the current financial year, or about 14 percent of the division's total budget.

"It's pretty significant," Rubenstein said. "But it does not deter us from doing other things. We certainly try to keep the costs down as much as we can, but we're required to take care of our inmates."

The state's prison system provides many types of health care to inmates, from medical care and mental health services to dental care. The state contracts for these services.

So how is the division trying to minimize the cost explosion?

Rubenstein hopes that by next summer the state's prisons will be completely smoke-free.

Prison officials said in a news report last month that the initiative would save the division about $400,000 in inmate medical costs and between $60,000 and $80,000 in dental costs.

"States that have actually implemented a smoke-free environment have seen their medical costs go down," Rubenstein said.

Another way the division is trying to cut down on its medical expenses is to simply teach inmates how to take better care of themselves through preventative health measures, Rubenstein said.

Between 1999 and 2006, the population of state prisoners grew from about 3,000 to more than 5,400, according to the division's 2005 report. The population is expected to balloon to 6,792 by 2014.

There's a full-time medical staff and locked infirmary at Mt. Olive Correctional Complex in Fayette County. The sickest inmates who need around-the-clock care are transferred to the Mt. Olive infirmary if they're not already housed there, Rubenstein said.

The Northern Correctional Center in Moundsville also has a six-bed medical facility. Other facilities have some type of medical personnel at the site.

There are no operating rooms in the prison system. For more severe illnesses and conditions that require surgery or specialized care, inmates are often transported to hospitals. However, the prisons can provide dialysis treatment.

St. Mary's Correctional Center, a medium-security facility in Pleasants County, is targeted specifically to aging, special needs and chronically ill inmates, according to the division's Web site.

In 2000, the state reported it had 372 inmates who were 50 years old or older. And time marches on. No recent figures were immediately available.

A report prepared by the Criminal Justice Institute in 2004 says the older inmates suffer from a variety of chronic illnesses and other ailments associated with the aging process. It's a challenge for prison systems to make sure these inmates are accommodated.

The numbers of inmates coming into the prison system with drug problems and drug-related health issues also is on the rise, Rubenstein said.

Ten percent of all those incarcerated last year were drug offenders, according to the division's 2005 report.

They've got terminal illnesses like HIV and chronic ailments like tuberculosis. Others are addicted to drugs and need treatment and counseling.

"We see a lot of inmates who come into the system who from substance abuse have really never taken care of themselves," Rubenstein said. "They come into the system in fairly poor health."

Corrections officials are paying attention to studies that warn of an explosion of health problems related to inmates who have abused methamphetamine, Rubenstein said.

One problem would be what health professionals call "meth mouth," which is a general rotting of the teeth and gum disease caused by the corrosive materials in the drug.