Nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) prevalence is a rising public health concern. We assessed the long-term healthcare systems perspective of costs incurred by 147 NTM-PD patients at a tertiary hospital in South Korea. Median cumulative total medical cost in managing NTM-PD patients was US $5,044 (interquartile range US $3,586–$9,680) over 49.7 months (interquartile range 33.0–68.2 months) of follow-up. The major cost drivers were diagnostic testing and medication, accounting for 59.6% of total costs. Higher costs were associated with hospitalization for Mycobacterium abscessus infection and pulmonary comorbidities. Of the total medical care costs, 50.2% were patient co-payments resulting from limited national health insurance coverage. As South Korea faces significant problems of poverty during old age and increasing NTM-PD prevalence, the financial and socio-economic burden of NTM-PD may become a major public health concern that should be considered with regard to adequate strategies for NTM-PD patients.

非结核分枝杆菌肺病 (NTM-PD) 的患病率是一个日益严重的公共卫生问题。我们从长期医疗保健系统的角度评估了韩国一家三级医院 147 名 NTM-PD 患者所产生的费用。在 49.7 个月（四分位范围 33.0-68.2 个月）的随访期间，管理 NTM-PD 患者的累计总医疗费用中位数为 5,044 美元（四分位范围 3,586-9,680 美元）。主要成本驱动因素是诊断检测和药物治疗，占总成本的 59.6%。较高的费用与脓肿分枝杆菌感染和肺部合并症住院有关。在总医疗费用中，50.2%是由于国民健康保险覆盖范围有限而导致的患者自付费用。由于韩国面临老年贫困和 NTM-PD 患病率上升的严重问题，NTM-PD 的财政和社会经济负担可能成为一个主要的公共卫生问题，在为 NTM-PD 患者制定适当的策略时应考虑这一问题。