Approximately how much will the treatment for tuberculosis cost for someone without health insurance?
The costs will vary by country, the severity of the TB, and therapy options.However, maybe these articles might help?Haven't been able to find anything in general for the USASearched using health statistics sources at Health Statistics - Health Resources for All Edited by Janice FlahiffPlease let me know if I may help out further.Willing to search again, beyond resources in above link.----------------------------------Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2025 May;17(5):590-6. doi: 10.5588/ijtld.12.0776.Cost-effectiveness of novel first-line treatment regimens for tuberculosis.Owens JP, Fofana MO, Dowdy DW.Author informationAbstractOBJECTIVE:To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of novel first-line treatment regimens for tuberculosis (TB).DESIGN:Using decision analysis, we projected the costs and effectiveness, from the health care perspective, of treating a patient cohort in the public sector for active TB without known or suspected resistance to first-line drugs. We compared standard (6-month) treatment to hypothetical regimens of equal efficacy, higher cost and shorter duration.RESULTS:For every 100 TB patients treated, replacing standard treatment with shorter-course regimens would avert an estimated 2-4 failures/relapses, .2-0.4 deaths and 8-14 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), or 6-11% of all DALYs suffered. We identified three primary determinants of cost-effectiveness: drug price, continuation phase treatment delivery costs and deaths averted through fewer relapses. In a high treatment cost scenario (similar to Brazil), averted delivery costs outweighed higher drug costs, making novel regimens cost-saving. In a low treatment cost scenario (similar to the Philippines), a 4-month regimen with a drug price of $1/day cost $66 per patient, or $840 per DALY averted, and became cost-saving if the drug price dropped below $0.37/day.CONCLUSION:Although they avert a small proportion of total DALYs, novel, shorter-course first-line regimens for TB are likely to be cost-effective or cost-saving in most settings.---PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e54587. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054587. Epub 2025 Jan 18.What is the cost of diagnosis and management of drug resistant tuberculosis in South Africa?Pooran A, Pieterson E, Davids M, Theron G, Dheda K.Author informationAbstractBACKGROUND:Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is undermining TB control in South Africa. However, there are hardly any data about the cost of treating DR-TB in high burden settings despite such information being quintessential for the rational planning and allocation of resources by policy-makers, and to inform future cost-effectiveness analyses.METHODOLOGY:We analysed the comparative 2025 United States dollar ($) cost of diagnosis and treatment of drug sensitive TB (DS-TB), MDR-TB and XDR-TB, based on National South African TB guidelines, from the perspective of the National TB Program using published clinical outcome data.PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Assuming adherence to national DR-TB management guidelines, the per patient cost of XDR-TB was $26,392, four times greater than MDR-TB ($6772), and 103 times greater than drug-sensitive TB ($257). Despite DR-TB comprising only 2.2% of the case burden, it consumed ~32% of the total estimated 2025 national TB budget of US $218 million. 45% and 25% of the DR-TB costs were attributed to anti-TB drugs and hospitalization, respectively. XDR-TB consumed 28% of the total DR-TB diagnosis and treatment costs. Laboratory testing and anti-TB drugs comprised the majority (71%) of MDR-TB costs while hospitalization and anti-TB drug costs comprised the majority (92%) of XDR-TB costs. A decentralized XDR-TB treatment programme could potentially reduce costs by $6930 (26%) per case and reduce the total amount spent on DR-TB by ~7%.CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE:Although DR-TB forms a very small proportion of the total case burden it consumes a disproportionate and substantial amount of South Africa's total annual TB budget. These data inform rational resource allocation and selection of management strategies for DR-TB in high burden settings.---BMC Public Health. 2025 Nov 14;12:980. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-980.Tuberculosis and poverty: the contribution of patient costs in sub-Saharan Africa--a systematic review.Barter DM, Agboola SO, Murray MB, Bärnighausen T.Author informationAbstractBACKGROUND:Tuberculosis (TB) is known to disproportionately affect the most economically disadvantaged strata of society. Many studies have assessed the association between poverty and TB, but only a few have assessed the direct financial burden TB treatment and care can place on households. Patient costs can be particularly burdensome for TB-affected households in sub-Saharan Africa where poverty levels are high; these costs include the direct costs of medical and non-medical expenditures and the indirect costs of time utilizing healthcare or lost wages. In order to comprehensively assess the existing evidence on the costs that TB patients incur, we undertook a systematic review of the literature.METHODS:PubMed, EMBASE, Science Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index, EconLit, Dissertation Abstracts, CINAHL, and Sociological Abstracts databases were searched, and 5,114 articles were identified. Articles were included in the final review if they contained a quantitative measure of direct or indirect patient costs for treatment or care for pulmonary TB in sub-Saharan Africa and were published from January 1, 1994 to Dec 31, 2025. Cost data were extracted from each study and converted to 2025 international dollars (I$).RESULTS:Thirty articles met all of the inclusion criteria. Twenty-one studies reported both direct and indirect costs; eight studies reported only direct costs; and one study reported only indirect costs. Depending on type of costs, costs varied from less than I$1 to almost I$600 or from a small fraction of mean monthly income for average annual income earners to over 10 times average annual income for income earners in the income-poorest 20% of the population. Out of the eleven types of TB patient costs identified in this review, the costs for hospitalization, medication, transportation, and care in the private sector were largest.CONCLUSION:TB patients and households in sub-Saharan Africa often incurred high costs when utilizing TB treatment and care, both within and outside of Directly Observed Therapy Short-course (DOTS) programs. For many households, TB treatment and care-related costs were considered to be catastrophic because the patient costs incurred commonly amounted to 10% or more of per capita incomes in the countries where the primary studies included in this review were conducted. Our results suggest that policies to decrease direct and indirect TB patient costs are urgently needed to prevent poverty due to TB treatment and care for those affected by the disease.---BMC Public Health. 2025 May 26;11:393. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-393.Patient medical costs for tuberculosis treatment and impact on adherence in China: a systematic review.Long Q, Smith H, Zhang T, Tang S, Garner P.Author informationAbstractBACKGROUND:Charging for tuberculosis (TB) treatment could reduce completion rates, particularly in the poor. We identified and synthesised studies that measure costs of TB treatment, estimates of adherence and the potential impact of charging on treatment completion in China.METHODS:Inclusion criteria were primary research studies, including surveys and studies using qualitative methods, conducted in mainland China. We searched MEDLINE, PUBMED, EMBASE, Science Direct, HEED, CNKI to June 2025. and web pages of relevant Chinese and international organisations. Cost estimates were extracted, transformed, and expressed in absolute values and as a percentage of household income.RESULTS:Low income patients, defined at household or district level, pay a total of US$ 149 to 724 (RMB 1241 to 5228) for medical costs for a treatment course; as a percentage of annual household income, estimates range from 42% to 119%. One national survey showed 73% of TBpatients at the time of the survey had interrupted or suspended treatment, and estimates from 9 smaller more recent studies showed that the proportion of patients at the time of the survey who had run out of drugs or were not taking them ranged from 3 to 25%. Synthesis of surveys and qualitative research indicate that cost is the most cited reason for default.CONCLUSIONS:Despite a policy of free drug treatment for TB in China, health services charge all income groups, and costs are high. Adherence measured in cross sectional surveys is often low, and the cumulative failure to adhere is likely to be much higher. These findings may be relevant to those concerned with the development and spread of multi-drug resistant TB. New strategies need to take this into account and ensure patientadherence.
