visaprocessUAE: Dubai health insurance rules

It is an obligation of the employer to provide employee the health insurance cover, while bearing its entire cost. Article 10 of the Law No. 11 of 2013 concerning health insurance in the emirate of Dubai, states: "The employer shall be obliged to do the following:

1. Cover the employees by health insurance in accordance with the health insurance policy applicable thereby; providing to comply with the provisions of this law and the resolutions issued pursuant thereto.

2. Bear the costs for such health insurance coverage rather than making the beneficiaries do so.

3. Verify that the health insurance of the employees is valid for the length of their work period at the employer's company.

4. Bear the health services and medical intervention costs in emergencies for the employees, if any of them has no health insurance in accordance with the provisions of this law.

5. Give the employees the health insurance card.

6. Provide health insurance policy upon the residence visa issuance or its renewal.

7. Any other obligations specified by the authority pursuant to the resolutions issued thereby in such concern."

Based on the aforementioned provisions of law, it is responsibility of the employer to provide health insurance coverage to the employees in the emirate of Dubai. The employer should not demand or request the employee to bear part of cost of health insurance premium.

Know the law

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. read more

Basic facts that you need to know about your health insurance

1) Coverage:

The Dubai Health Law No 11 stipulates mandatory health insurance for all. This means, every single resident will have to be covered for health insurance. Every health insurance package has a range of coverage which refers to the list of health conditions and health care services that will be addressed.

At the very basic level of coverage is the Essential Basic Package, a health insurance cover that comes at the minimum premium so it is affordable.

What is the premium for EBP? It ranges between Dh620-975 per annum to be paid by the employee sponsor.

What does this coverage include? It could include General Physician consultation, dental and maternity cover, features that are usually covered in the basic package.

This EBP cover also provides a maximum insurance limit of Dh150,000 per annum in case of emergencies.

All pre-existing conditions are also covered in the EBP package after six months from the first time you buy insurance.

“The annual premium amount for EBP has not gone up in the last three years since mandatory health insurance law came into effect. It indicates that insurance for the masses is working in general to provide healthcare delivery to all,” said Dr Al Yousuf.

2) Network:

A network is the organisation contracted with the health insurance company to provide services to plan members for specific pre-negotiated rates. The network provider organises a group of clinics, diagnostic centres and pharmacies to which an individual subscribing to a plan falling under it can go to. This, in other words, means the full list of clinics and hospitals that your insurance package gives you access to. This is also known as an in-network provider.

An out-of-network provider is not contracted with the health insurance plan. On your insurance card, the name of the network is mentioned under the subhead Insurance Provider (IP) net. The policy holder can look up the list of the medical care outlets that he can avail of in the annexure that is provided by the insurance company. Additionally, the TOB provided by the insurance company also includes the list of family health physicians, diagnostic centres and pharmacies that are approved under the EBP. Hospital visits in EBP come on the recommendation of the family doctor.

It’s mandatory by law to have adequate geographic coverage of EBP network all over the UAE, however, one can look at the list and see if the network includes clinics they prefer to use or which are located near their home.

All EBP insurance provides for free emergency treatment at any hospital and maternity cover is also provided.

3) Group v/s individual insurances:

Most people employed in a company can avail of a group insurance which has group discounts. Individual insurances usually are tailor-made and have higher annual premiums depending on the health of the policy holder.

4) Deductibles:

These are sums that have to be borne personally by the insurance holder. There is a basic amount an individual has to pay for consultation at the clinic. For instance, if a doctor’s consultation fee is Dh100, and the deductible is fixed at 10 per cent, the insurance holder will have to pay Dh10 as his portion of the financial contribution.

5) Co Insurance:

Also abbreviated to the acronym COINS on the health insurance card, which refers to the percentage you have to pay from your pocket towards the total bill. The co-insurance is upto 20 per cent of the total bill. So, for example, if you incur a total bill of Dh200 on X-rays, blood test, CT imaging and medicines on a visit to the clinic, if your coinsurance is set at 20 per cent, you would be paying an amount of Dh40 from your pocket.

There are separate limits for outpatient and inpatient coinsurance percentages. Usually in the EBP cover, outpatient coverage — which means a visit to a family clinic for a cough, cold, fever or even a maternity consultation — would be 20 per cent of the total consultation bill.

In the case of a hospital visit for a surgical procedure, the co-insurance could be 20 per cent of the total bill. Check your insurance card for inpatient and out patient coinsurance percentages to know how much you would have to pay per visit.

However, the DHA has put a ceiling on this amount. So, if a patient has to undergo a surgery worth Dh40,000, he will have a ceiling of not more than Dh500 as inpatient coinsurance per episode. A patient can avail of this facility three times in a year, not exceeding Dh1,000 in one year as coinsurance for any inpatient visits.

6) Pharmacy limits:

Each policy sets a limit for the expenses you can make at the pharmacy which in a EBP is usually Dh2,000 per annum. Beyond that sum, the expenses incurred will have to be paid from your pocket. For instance, if you have hypertension or diabetes or both and every two months you incur an expense of Dh400 on your insurance for medicines, in 12 months, you will have visited the pharmacy six times and incurred a bill of Dh2,400. So you would have exceeded your pharmacy expense limits which means you would have to pay Dh400 from your pocket.

The policy holder needs to read the Table of Benefits (ToB) carefully. It also means that in case of a sickness episode which is over and above these number of visits, the policy holder will have to pay from their pocket for the medicines, if he has exhausted the Dh2,000 limit.

Dr Yousuf explains: “One must look at this positively as the resident is covered for a majority of his medical expenses which was not the case earlier, before the insurance became mandatory. Now, he needs to foot the bill for a small percentage of his total medicine requirements.”

7) Pre-Approvals:

Despite the limits, many insurance providers prefer that the clinic seeks a prior approval for particularly expensive diagnostic tests and procedures. This is done to make sure clinics are not over-prescribing these tests. Once the pre-approval is in place, there is no chance of the claim being rejected. In case of an emergency of course, the patient can walk into the nearest hospital, where no questions are asked and immediate treatment is extended. All hospitals in Dubai are bound by law to attend to a patient in emergency where the coverage of the insurance card is not an issue.

8) Pre-existing conditions:

This is relevant only to a first-time subscriber of a health insurance package. In case an individual suffers from any condition such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer or any other ailment, he or she must disclose this at the outset to the insurance company. The condition will not be covered for the first six months after which the insurance will cover it.

What if a person changes jobs or opts into another insurance plan? Will this alter the insurance policy parameters in any way? No. All pre-existing conditions have to be treated under the EBP.

9) Reimbursements:

Usually all EBPs have a direct billing arrangement where the clinics claim the total treatment cost from the insurance provider. However, in many cases, your insurance might allow for an ‘out of network’ consultation or treatment where you pay the cost of treatment upfront and later file a claim with the bills and get reimbursed. Read the fine print on the ToB to know whether you can go to clinics and hospitals that are not in the network of your policy.

10) Last month coverage:

There are instances when insurance policy holder is denied coverage in the last month – such as medicine coverage in the month of December even though the coverage is up to end of that month. This is illegal according to the UAE law.

“If any pharmacy or clinic is doing that, it was illegal,” says Dr Al Yousuf. “The clinic must provide the insurance cover until the last day of the health coverage and insurance policy holders have a right to register a complaint if there is a violation of this right.”

Residents can register complaints on http://ipromes.eclaimlink.ae which is usually attended to within 48 hours of the receipt of the application.(GN)

Limit to visit a doctor

There is a limit to the number of times a patient can visit a doctor for a single episode. Let’s say when a patient discovers he has a fever, or any ailment where he consults a physician at the clinic, he can visit the same doctor for the same episode usually three times within 10 days for the same ailment. So on day one he goes for the first consultation, day three he might report for a follow-up and day six or seven he might want to reconsult to chart his recovery. He will be charged one time consultation fee for this. Once this limit has been reached, further approval from the insurance company must be sought.

Pre-approval for a medical procedure

Reality: Approval is only valid for a limited period of time. The exact period of validity should be communicated clearly to the patient. If the patient does not have the treatment within the specified time period, he or she may need to reapply for approval. Besides, patients must know that approvals for tests and procedures take time. For example, if a patient is prescribed tests worth Dh1,500 and his insurance provides cover for only an amount up to Dh1,000, both the patient and the doctor must wait for approval unless it is an emergency.

Only in the case of an emergency should the patient receive treatment for their immediate needs. The hospital or clinic should try to get a response from the insurance company as quickly as possible.

How well are you covered?

Insurance companies may not cover all tests, (for instance tests like Vitamin D tests and screening for HIV or Hepatitis B and C are not covered usually and you need to check your insurance policy plan. A lot depends on the kind of insurance policy the patient has signed up for. Most don’t cover opthalmology and dental treatments and this should be communicated clearly to the patient.

Ambulance services

Reality: Ambulance service is only covered if there is an emergency. The insurance company should ensure that the patient understands this.

Call up the insurance company and check the coverage of prescribed procedure

Doctors do not always know which conditions are covered by a specific insurance policy, so it can be difficult for doctors to prescribe treatments or procedures. The best thing a patient can do is to get their clinic or hospital to call up the insurance company and check against the coverage if the prescribed procedure will be covered.

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To prepare your visa applications, call:

QQusais (Al Nahda-2) Near Zulekha Hospital: 04-239 1302, 055 273 2295, 055-345 7829

Qusais, Near DAFZA Metro Station: Exit#2, Shop No. 7, Al Manzil Building,

Tel. +971 52 1416869

Qusais (Industrial Area-5), Wasl Village, Retal Center, Shop No. 4. Tel. 0524912412, 0558650577

Bur Dubai: 04-252 22 22, 055-9105757

Hor Al Anz: (Deira): 04-265 8373, 050-715 0562

Qusais (Damascus St): 04-258 6727, 054-300 5931

For Collection & Delivery Service; call 04-239 1302, 055 273 2295, 055-345 7829

For Family visa service of all other emirates, call: 04-252 22 22, 055-9105757

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