According to the complaint, prison staff were warned that morning about the heat and told not to leave inmates outside too long, or without water.

This is the second time health care provider Wellpath’s lawsuit has been dismissed. 

By one measure, about a third of all prisoners will be considered geriatric by 2030. Prison systems are grappling with how to care for their elderly prisoners — and how to pay for it.

Autopsies are not required for federal prison deaths that are classified as natural. NPR found cases where medical neglect, poor prison conditions and a lack of resources contributed to these deaths.

Lawmakers are urging the federal Bureau of Prisons to address prisoner health care after an NPR investigation detailed the stories of prisoners nationwide going without needed medical care.