Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy | View firm profile
The UAE is renowned for its best quality healthcare facilities, which has led to a rise in medical tourism over the past decade. Healthcare is so prevalent, there are an estimated 181 doctors per 100,000 residents. Health insurance is one of the most serious issues in any society as it often leads to high-quality healthcare treatment available for many people. The UAE has some of the finest healthcare infrastructure in the world and is a major attraction for expats looking to move there. Health insurance plays a massive role in providing a high level of healthcare in the UAE and is necessary for expats living in Dubai. There are different ways to treat the issue and some countries provide free healthcare while others focus on healthcare insurance system. In the UAE, compulsory health insurance has been introduced few years back.
Points to remember
According to labour laws, you are entitled to a health card that allows you access to a limited range of hospitals and clinics that make up the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) facilities. The Health Insurance Law of Dubai No 11 (2013) requires all residents to have a level of health insurance coverage that meets or exceeds the minimum benefits laid out by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). Responsibility of health insurance is down to the employer (not the employee). The employer is obliged to cover the employees by health insurance in accordance with the health insurance policy applicable. The employer can’t ask the beneficiary to bear the insurance cost. The law also states that employers must not deduct the salary of the employee to provide health insurance.
UAE nationals living in Dubai have access to Saada. It provides insurance coverage to citizens who aren’t benefitting from any government health program in Dubai. Saada users can receive treatment at many DHA healthcare centres and private providers. UAE citizens have the option to opt-out of their private healthcare scheme to join the government scheme. Employers of expats are required to provide health insurance for their employees. Sponsors are also required to provide private health insurance for their dependents. EBP is for Dubai residents who earn less than AED 4,000, as well as for their dependents. The Plan has a fixed cost of AED550-AED650 annually and benefits including emergency treatment limited to Emirates within the UAE, basic healthcare in Dubai and a 30% co-pay for each prescription.
Conclusion
While choosing health insurance quantitative data will be essential when analysing outcomes of the policy. It will be important to calculate the number of activities, costs of the activities, the number of people covered by insurance package, the rate of particular diseases as well as death rate. And one can also seek expert advice. Medical Services within the UAE, while generally of an extremely high quality, can be expensive. As such it is highly recommended that all individuals, families, and groups located in the UAE, GCC, or on the Arabian Peninsula, purchase some form of comprehensive UAE medical insurance policy.