All Options Should Be on the Table for North Kansas City

Economy | April 2, 2013

By David Stokes | Read Time 1 minute minutes

The number of government-owned and operated public hospitals in the United States has declined dramatically over the past three decades. There were almost 2,000 public hospitals in the U.S. in the 1970s. There were only 1,045 public hospitals by 2011, and the trend is continuing for many of the same reasons North Kansas City is considering changing its hospital operational structure. Like the U.S. Postal Service, the model of a government-owned and operated public hospital facility is simply not nearly as effective as it used to be. There may be substantial public concern and political opposition to changes in hospital operations, but that will not change the long-term economic outlook of public hospitals.

About the Author

David Stokes

David Stokes is a St. Louis native and a graduate of Saint Louis University High School and Fairfield (Conn.) University. He spent six years as a political aide at the St. Louis County Council before joining the Show-Me Institute in 2007. Stokes was a policy analyst at the Show-Me Institute from 2007 to 2016. From 2016 through 2020 he was Executive Director of Great Rivers Habitat Alliance, where he led efforts to oppose harmful floodplain developments done with abusive tax subsidies. Stokes rejoined the Institute in early 2021 as the Director of Municipal Policy. He is a past president of the University City Library Board. He served on the St. Louis County 2010 Council Redistricting Commission and was the 2012 representative to the Electoral College from Missouri’s First Congressional District. He lives in University City with his wife and their three children.

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