Healthcare Industry

According to a 2016 Healthcare and Bioscience Economic Impact Study published by the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, the Bioscience and Healthcare Cluster includes both direct and indirect healthcare services and continues to be one of the region’s biggest industries. Indeed, one out of every six San Antonians works either directly or indirectly in the Bioscience and Healthcare industry. Direct healthcare services are those that provide care directly to patients. These services include hospitals, physicians’ offices, nursing homes, offices and clinics of a variety of other healthcare providers, and various other outpatient and ambulatory care settings.

Indirect related components complement and support the provision of medical and Healthcare. These indirect services are provided by health insurance carriers, pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment producers and manufacturers, civilian and military medical education, biomedical research organizations, residential care and social service providers, and a variety of related endeavors.

The estimated total economic impact of both direct and indirect healthcare services $37 billion dollars in 2015. This estimate shows significant growth from years past. In 2009, the comprehensive estimate of overall economic impact was $24.5 Billion, a 51 percent increase. This comprehensive estimate includes the salaries of 172,084 employees in 2015. This estimate shows an increase of 49,355 jobs over the past decade, an increase of 46%. Additionally, jobs in this cluster, on average, have an annual salary that is 11.5 percent higher than the average amongst other employment sectors in the region.

Demand for healthcare services in the region is complex, characterized by (1) significant numbers of uninsured residents and (2) challenging behavioral and physical health factors vary county to county.

The region’s population is characterized by a disproportionate number of residents without health insurance. All counties except Kendall and Wilson counties boast higher percentages of uninsured than the national average of 14.2% (2014). The only county in the region worse than the 21.9% (2014) for state of Texas overall is Frio county, with an uninsured rate of 27.1%. Refer to the Percentage of Uninsured Population by County (2014) Table for a comprehensive list of uninsured percentages.

Evaluation of behavioral and physical health characteristics for the region also highlights regional challenges, including:

5 of 13 counties have Adult Obesity index is higher than Texas
6 of 13 counties are characterized by Physical Inactivity index is higher than Texas
6 of 13 counties’ Excessive Drinking index is higher than Texas
9 of 13 counties have a Primary Care Physician to Patient ratio higher than Texas
7 of 12 counties have Air Pollution index higher than Texas

Refer to the Behavioral and Physical Health Factors Index Table for additional details.