St. Louis Health Care

Greater St. Louis is a major center for health sciences and services. St. Louis has two prestigious medical schools at Saint Louis University and Washington University. These schools of medicine graduate over 250 MDs and 300 PhDs in other health-related sciences annually.(1) The St. Louis, MO-IL MSA has approximately 10,000 physicians according to the American Medical Association.(2)

Greater St. Louis is also home to Logan College of Chiropractic, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy, Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine, and University of Missouri – St. Louis College of Optometry as well as a wide range of nursing, allied health, and health care technical programs.

These colleges and universities along with numerous local health care organizations have made St. Louis nationally known as a center for medical research, especially in the areas of genetics, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals.

The health care and social assistance industry in the Greater St. Louis employed over 175,000 people in private industry in 2010.

Affordable Health Insurance

Greater St. Louis has comparatively low health insurance costs, especially when compared with other large metropolitan areas. The St. Louis, MO-IL MSA had the 5th least expensive premiums for single coverage out of the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. in 2010 and the 9th least in single coverage contributions. The St. Louis, MO-IL MSA ranked 3rd least expensive employee-plus-one premiums and as the 2nd least expensive total premiums for family coverage. (3)

This data documents businesses’ relatively low costs to provide health care insurance coverage to employees in Greater St. Louis. The St. Louis, MO-IL MSA had both the 2nd highest percent of establishments offering employee health insurance (66.9%) and employees enrolling in the health insurance offered by their establishment (64.8%) out of the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. in 2010.(4)

Top Ranked

Greater St. Louis’ medical schools and hospitals are consistently among the top recognized in the U.S. Click here to see St. Louis' health care ratings and rankings.

Sources:
(1) College Navigator” National Center for Education Statistics, 2010.
(2) "Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the U.S., 2011 Edition" American Medical Association, 2011.
(3) “Average Total Premiums and Employee Contributions (in Dollars) for Private-sector Establishments by Firm Size for 20 Largest Metro Areas: United States, 2010 in Medical Expenditures Panel Survey U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2010.
(4) "Health Insurance Offer, Eligibility, Take up Rates for Private-sector Establishments and Employees by Firm Size for 20 Largest Metro Areas: United States 2010" in "Medical Expenditures Panel Survey" U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2010.