Is convenience really king? Comparative evaluation of catastrophic costs due to tuberculosis in the public and private healthcare sectors of Viet Nam: a longitudinal patient cost study.

Persons with TB in Viet Nam face similarly high risk of catastrophic costs whether treated in the public or private sector. Patient costs could be reduced through expanded insurance reimbursement to minimize direct medical costs in the private sector, use of remote monitoring and multi-week/month dosing strategies to avert economic costs in the public sector and greater access to social protection mechanism in general.