43 firms selected to provide health cover in Dubai

“Initially, the scheme will cover 200 companies with a large number of staff,” said Dr Haidar Al Yousuf, Director of Health Funding at the DHA.

In the first phase, companies with 1,000 or more employees will have to provide health insurance cover to their employees before the end of October this year, he said.

At present only one million Dubai residents have health cover. The new scheme will now give access to quality health-care services to more than three million people. This large segment of the population includes low-income workers such as those in the construction sector and domestic help.

Another section of the population that has been neglected but will now have the mandatory health cover are spouses and children of expatriates. Many expatriates had neglected to provide health insurance for their families because of the high premium costs.

Under the new law, the expatriate will have to pay for the coverage for the spouse and children. The residence visas of family members will not be renewed without proof of health insurance.

Residents said the new law will hike expenses further with families already reeling under rental increases, rising price of groceries and the rise in the overall cost of living. Dr Al Yousuf said it will cost Dh600 for the basic package that will also cover maternity and surgeries.

The doctor refuted claims that the coverage will affect the bottom line of companies, saying that it has been calculated that it would cost a company just 1.5 per cent of the total monthly salaries of its employees.

Analysts said while health coverage was long overdue, it could have knock-on effects as companies will pass on their extra expenses to consumers.

Eisa Al Maidour, Director-General of DHA, said the premium would cost between Dh500 and Dh700 per year. “It will provide adequate cover at a reasonable cost for employees,” he said.

Residents with health cover would pay 20 per cent of the cost of doctor’s consultation fees, treatment and medicine cost. The existing health cards of Emiratis issued by DHA will be replaced with the new health insurance cards that provide for health-care services and preventive care.

Dr Al Yousuf said DHA recognises the fact that insurers also have to make a reasonable profit. He said several factors were taken into consideration before granting the permit to insurance companies. These include ensuring companies use the DHA claims management platform (eClaimlink.ae), have a proper set-up for complaints handling, proper data security and customer communications, he said.

The new law has come into effect a few years after Abu Dhabi made health cover mandatory in 2008.