Tuberculosis Hospitalization Fees and Bed Utilization in China from 1999 to 2009: The Results of a National Survey of Tuberculosis Specialized Hospitals.

China is transitioning towards concentrating tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic and treatment services in hospitals, while the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) system will retain important public health functions. Patient expenditure incurred through hospitalization may lead to barriers to TB care or interruption of treatment.We conducted a national survey of TB specialized hospitals to determine hospitalization fees and hospital bed utilization in 1999, 2004, and 2009. Hospitalization of TB patients increased 185.3% from 1999 to 2009. While the average hospitalization fees also increased, the proportion of those fees in relation to GDP per capita decreased. Hospitalization fees differed across the three regions (eastern, central, and western). Using a least standard difference (LSD) paired analysis, in 2004, the difference in hospitalization fees was significant when comparing eastern and central provinces (p<0.001) as well as to western provinces (p<0.001). In 2009, the difference remained statistically significant when comparing eastern province hospitalization fees with central provinces (p