Dubai makes health cover compulsory
INSURANCE SCHEME LINKED TO JOB PERMITS AND VISAS WILL START NEXT YEAR
Anew law has made health insurance coverage compulsory for every resident in Dubai starting next year. Presently only a million residents are covered out of the more than three million residents in Dubai.
Officials from the Dubai Health Authority ( DHA) said many blue- collar workers are not covered and this new law will ensure that everyone has access to essential health services.
“The law is fundamental to ensure smooth delivery of basic health insurance to everyone living in the emirate, which means over three million people, which includes nationals ( Emiratis) and residents with Dubai visas,” said Eisa Al Maidoor, director general of the DHA.
He unveiled the law yesterday to the media. The Health Insurance Law was approved by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Officials said the insurance scheme will start to roll out next year and will be completed by 2016. Many blue collar workers and many spouses of expatriates presently do not have health cover. When it goes into force, the new law will ensure that no work or residence visa would be renewed without a health insurance cover.
An expatriate will pay for the coverage of his spouse and children. But Haidar Al Yousuf, director of health funding at the DHA, said the Authority is working with insurance companies for inexpensive basic coverage plans. The basic package would cost Dh600 for a year, he said.
All Dubai residents will have health insurance within three years and a new law has made it compulsory for companies to provide coverage for their employees. Presently, only one million Dubai residents have health cover and the new regulation will give more than three million people access to quality health- care services, the Dubai Health Authority ( DHA) announced yesterday.
The mandatory health insurance is also linked to the visa, and every expatriate’s residence or work visa renewal would require him or her to be covered by health insurance. This includes domestic workers such as maids and drivers. However, individual expatriate employees who sponsor their spouses and children will have to bear the cost of their health insurance.
The new Health Insurance Law has been approved by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Expected rush
Eisa Al Maidour, directorgeneral, DHA, said, “The law is fundamental to ensuring smooth delivery of essential health insurance to everyone living in the emirate, which roughly means over three million people, including nationals and residents with Dubai visas.”
The new law, according to him, will ensure universal access to quality health care services. The other goal of this law, he said, is the development of a health insurance system that is dynamic in nature and one that will attract investment and quality players in the field of health to boost the emirate’s booming economy.
Hospitals and clinics are ready to handle the expected rush of people who would seek medical services once they are covered, he said. An additional 1,500 hospital beds are being added across the emirate.
The new health insurance regulation will now encourage many expatriates to seek prompt medical help here rather than delay the process and wait until their annual vacations to avail of cheaper health- care services back home.
Regarding the additional costs to be borne by companies, Dr Haider Al Yousuf, director, Health Funding, DHA, said it works out to about 1.5 per cent of a company’s payroll budget to provide health cover to its employees. It is the responsibility of companies to provide for their expatriate employees’ health care, he said.
Basic package
Emiratis, he said, will receive insurance cards to replace the existing DHA health cards that provide for health care services and preventive care.
Health insurance packages will soon be made available for all employers in Dubai. The basic health insurance package will cost Dh600 per year and will provide basic health services and surgeries. However, it will not cover preventive care. Dr Al Yousuf said the authorities are working towards it.
Commenting on the possi- bility of expatriates fearing that the additional costs to be borne by companies due to the new policy may lead them to adjust salaries ( see box), Dr Al Yousuf clarified that doing so would be against the law.
He allayed fears by explaining that only registered companies would be able to provide insurance schemes and packages.
“The DHA will provide insurance companies with Health Insurance Permits and the move is aimed to ensure that every insurance company follows high standards as well as rules and regulations that are compliant with the Authority.”