Sunday, Feb 19, 2017

Dubai: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has directed all health insurance providers to provide coverage in Sharjah and Northern Emirates following a recent Gulf News investigation which reported that some Dubai visa holders living in other emirates were not being covered by their insurance companies.

The order takes effect immediately following feedback from policy holders, a spokesperson from DHA told Gulf News on Sunday.

Previously, it was optional and therefore some companies did not offer insurance cover outside the Emirate of Dubai.

Readers had complained that Takaful Emarat’s Aafiya network was not providing any coverage for individual holders of Essential Basic Package (EBP) in Sharjah or any other Northern Emirates.

Aafiya is one of the Third Party Administrators (TPA) for Takaful Emarat.

The TPA’s routinely execute the insurance policy that one buys by giving access to hospitals and clinics listed in the coverage.

An expatriate with a Dubai visa, who resides in Sharjah, took his son for a general medical consultation, he was informed that the basic package (EBP) which was serviced by Afiya gave only emergency medical coverage in Sharjah and he would have to take his son to Dubai for consultation.

Following the new mandate from Dubai Health Authority, Takaful Emarat has sent a list of clinics that now cover all Sharjah and Northern Emirates under their Aafiya network.

Dr Haider Al Yousuf, Director of Health Funding at the DHA, told Gulf News that the move is a positive one for the health insurance industry, the health sector and for policyholders.

“Many Dubai residence visa holders live in Sharjah and Northern Emirates. This mandate ensures they have coverage in the emirate they live in so that they can access health care when they need it at a location that is convenient to them,” he said.

Dr Al Yousuf added that it would be more cost-effective for insurance companies to provide coverage in Northern Emirates.

He also advised people that they should research their health insurance policy properly before opting to buy cover.

Al Yousuf said that there are enough options available in the market and people can top-up their essential cover.

He stressed that the first step to buying insurance is to understand the policy, its inclusions and exclusions.

“The DHA’s website www-ishad.ae has the list of 50 companies, of which nine companies provide the basic package. People should educate themselves about the policy they intend to buy. The market has a good range of options and people need to select what is most suitable for them. They can get comparative quotes before they buy their health insurance. They should research the hospitals and clinics under the network of a particular insurance company and buy cover only when they are convinced that the policy meets their needs,” he said.

Premiums for basic packages range from Dh550 to Dh700 and there are always options available to top-up this basic insurance cover. To lodge a complaint customers can go to the ishad website and use the ‘ipromes’ tab available at the site to register their grievances.

Residents are advised to be aware of their rights under the insurance coverage they are paying for and lodge complaints to DHA as it has a robust redressal system in place. “We request residents to lodge complaints about health insurance through proper channels. The correct way is to log on to the ishad website and lodge a complaint through ‘ipromes’ tab. Customer protection is a top priority for us and we take every complaint or dispute lodged with us very seriously. In fact, 95 per cent of the disputes are resolved within three to four working days,” added Dr Al Yousuf.

What was the issue?

UAE residents with Dubai visa residing in Sharjah or other Northern Emirates had complained about their Essential Basic Pacakge providing only emergency medical coverage in these emirates.

Their contention was if they live in Sharjah or other emirates they cannot really rush to a clinic in Dubai if someone in the family takes ill.

Dubai Health Authority took cognisance of the complaint and issued a circular mandating all insurance companies and their service providers to give coverage in Sharjah and Northern Emirates with immediate effect.

By Suchitra Bajpai ?Chaudhary Senior Reporter

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