Healthcare expenditure for nursing services is rising significantly faster than total healthcare spending. According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Tuesday, the share of nursing care within total healthcare costs jumped by 5.4 percentage points between 2014 and 2024. In 2024, spending on nursing services totaled 135.9 billion euros, accounting for roughly a quarter (25.3%) of all healthcare expenses in Germany. This is a notable increase from the 65.0 billion euros spent ten years earlier, which represented one-fifth (19.8%) of total healthcare costs of 327.7 billion euros. Over this decade, expenditures for nursing services have more than doubled, marking a solid increase of 109.1%.
Several factors are driving this trend, including the changes to the Eleventh Book of the Social Code (SGB XI) introduced on January 1, 2017, rising costs for nursing staff, and demographic shifts. Nursing services encompass various care types, including basic, treatment, and intensive care, provided in both ambulatory and partially residential facilities, as well as in private homes. Total healthcare expenditure reached 538.2 billion euros in 2024, showing a rise of nearly two-thirds (64.2%) since 2014.
Other components of healthcare spending include doctor’s services and therapy, dental replacements, the provision of medicines, and the costs of accommodation and meals for healthcare facilities. For instance, medical services accounted for 23.6% of all healthcare expenditure. Spending on medical services-which includes basic, specialized, laboratory, and radiation diagnostic services-rose by 45.7% compared to 2014. Medicines constituted 15.8% of healthcare spending, increasing by 67.5% between 2014 and 2024, according to the agency.