Care expenditures for nursing homes rose 6.9% year-on-year in December, with an increase of 62% due to increased utilization rather than rising prices. Meanwhile, sector prices rose 2.2% year-on-year, with the combined healthcare price index rising 2.7%.
According to the Health Sector Economic Indicator Brief for February 2025, published by Altarum, the first data shows that care spending in all nursing homes increased by 9.6% compared to 2023 in 2024.
Estimates for monthly nursing home care expenditures were $189.5 billion in December 2021, Altarum found, increasing to $238.8 billion in December 2024.
Nursing and residential care facilities employment exceeded preschool levels for the first time this year, achieving this goal with an additional 13,200 jobs added in January, Altarum found. Furthermore, broken nursing facilities alone added 7,100 jobs in January, contributing to a 3.7% increase from the previous year.
“This is well above the average monthly increase of 4,800 over the past 12 months, but employment is still 4% below pre-pandemic levels,” report contributor Matt Daly said in a statement. Daily refers only to nursing room facilities, not to a combination of nursing facilities and residential care facilities.
Wages for nursing and residential care facilities increased 4% in December compared to December 2023, continuing at a recent several months' pace, said Daily averaged 4% between September and November, and 3.9%, similar to December 2023.
Meanwhile, hospitals and outpatient health services saw wage growth of 5.1% and 4.3%, respectively.
The overall employment rate was 3.4%, with the employment opening rate in December being 5.7%. The unemployment rate fell 0.1% and ended at 4% in January. Overall national medical expenses increased by 7.4% in 2024, and individual medical expenses increased by 7.9%.
Regarding insurance prices, the increase in private insurance prices for services year-on-year was 3.7%, while Medicaid's growth rate rose 2.3% and Medicare services prices rose 1.6%.
