Containing or shifting? Health expenditure decomposition for the aging Dutch population after a major reform.

•The aging-in-place reform in the Netherlands reduced the utilization of institutional care.•After the reform, average health expenditure for the Dutch population aged 65 years and over decreased.•The expenditure decrease was attributed to substitution of residential care by ageing-in-place.•Uptake of district nursing increased due to better access to this care.