By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – The Metro East is lagging behind the rest of the St. Louis area when it comes to growth in the health care sector.
That's according to a new study from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Economist John Navin says nationally, health care employment grew by more than 14 percent between 1998 and 2002.
But he says in St. Clair and Madison counties, the growth rate was half that.
"From the data that we've been able to go back to, which only goes through 1998, we appear to be slipping behind," Navin said. "We've been behind in general, but we've been behind in terms of population growth, so that wasn't surprising. What is surprising is that we're falling further behind."
The study did not point to any cause of the stagnant numbers.
But business groups and many physicians say doctors are being forced to leave the area because of high medical malpractice insurance rates.
The study was sponsored by the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois-an economic development group.