Spending on health care up by 8.1 percent in 2024

CBS publishes two figures on health care spending: one based on the international definition of health care spending applied by Eurostat/OECD/WHO, and a second that includes spending on social care in addition to spending on health care. This news release concerns the former figure, based on the international definition; the second figure will be published in the autumn when more sources have become available.

The international definition of health care spending focuses on medical and nursing care. As such, spending on long-term care is only partially covered by this definition.

Some of the increase in health care spending was because wages increased and the workforce also increased in size. Collectively agreed wages in the health and social care sector (per hour, including special remuneration) increased by 7.4 percent in 2024. Additionally, the total number of hours worked in the sector was up by 2.9 percent in 2024 compared with the previous year.

Large increase in spending on long-term care

Spending on health care under the Long-Term Care Act (WLZ) increased by 11 percent in 2024. This includes elderly care and care for people with disabilities or mental disorders who need permanent intensive care. By comparison, spending on ‘regular’ health care based on the Health Insurance Act (ZVW) increased by 7.9 percent. In 2024, spending on long-term home care (district nurse services, funded through regular health insurance) were up by 3.9 percent.

Out-of-pocket payments increased by 7.5 percent, but because the level of the deductible amount (ZVW) and co-payments (WLZ) increased by much less, the total increase in co-payments was much lower than the rise in total health care spending (5.9 versus 8.1 percent).

Higher spending on medicines, limited increase in preventive care

Health care spending is made up of various components, such as medical care, long-term care and preventive care. Spending on preventive care rose by 1 percent. This was less than the increase in spending on the other components of health care, partly because spending related to COVID-19 - such as testing and vaccinations - was much lower in 2024 than in the previous year.

The Netherlands’ spending on health care is among highest in EU

Figures for 2024 are not yet available for other countries. In 2023, spending on health care in the Netherlands was 5,871 euros per capita. That means the Netherlands spent more per head on health care than 24 other EU countries. Only Germany and Austria spent more, at 6,417 and 5,938 euros per capita, respectively. Romania was the EU member state that spent the least on health care, at 2,249 euros per capita. For this comparison, the figures have been adjusted to reflect price differences between countries; they indicate how much would be spent on health care in each country at Dutch prices.

¹⁾ Figures reflect PPP (purchasing power parity) in euros, in relation to the Netherlands
²⁾ Cyprus, Malta 2022