Background. Tuberculosis (TB) patients registered in the government clinics under the DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course) program in Chennai city catering to about 4.3 million population. Objective. To estimate the pattern and overall costs incurred by the new patients (who have never had treatment for tuberculosis or have taken antituberculosis drugs for less than one month) registered under DOTS program in the treatment of tuberculosis in Chennai city. Methodology. A cross-sectional survey among new TB patients, who had completed intensive phase of antituberculosis treatment, was done using a precoded semi-structured questionnaire between March and June 2007. Information was collected on demographic, socioeconomic characteristics and expenditure for before and during treatment. Mean costs were used for comparison. Results. Among the 300 TB patients, most economically productive age group and 186 (62%) were males. The overall estimated total costs incurred right from the onset of symptoms until treatment completion was found to be Rs. 3211 (3.8% of annual family income) under DOTS program, which is less compared to previous studies. The overall mean total cost was significantly high among male (Rs. 3270; ), employed (Rs. 3945; ), and extrapulmonary patients (Rs. 3915; ). Conclusion. The study has reiterated the fact that DOTS helps in reducing out-of-pocket expenses to patients with tuberculosis and hence is a cost-effective health intervention. This cost reduction may help to increase the access to the poor people which would help in achieving universal access to TB care services. 1. Introduction TB (tuberculosis) causes enormous social and economic disruption and hampers nation’s development [1, 2]. India accounts for one-fifth of the global TB burden, with 1.8 million developing the disease each year and of them about 800,000 are infectious. Nearly 0.4 million are dying due to TB annually which translates to two deaths every three minutes [3]. The disease is most prevalent in the age group of 15 to 54 years [4, 5], which is the highly economically productive period of an individual’s life with important consequences for the household when the individual falls sick with TB. Generally, burden of TB is measured by morbidity and mortality which are key considerations [6]. However, only focusing on morbidity and mortality effects provides an incomplete picture of the adverse impact of ill health on human welfare. In particular, the economic consequences of poor health can be substantial. Health “shocks,” such as unexpected increases in
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