What is one reason estimates of the cost of private prisons per inmate might not be accurate?

Assuming you had to choose between the following statements:

A) While the facilities are privately run, employees are state employees

B) Inmate medical care is paid for by the state of Texas

C) Common estimates of the costs of private prison are, in fact, accurate

D) Inmates must pay tuition, which is not calculated into the total cost

The answer is: Inmate medical care is paid for by the state of Texas (B).

More than 60% of the Texas state budget is spent on human services such as healthcare. This includes healthcare for private prison inmates, under the responsibility of the Correctional Managed Health Care Program, even though private prisons are run by groups of people who are independent from the state. What these private groups spend per inmate therefore does not include healthcare. In 2019, more than $750 million was spent on prison healthcare in Texas.