Thursday, Jun 23, 2016

Dubai: The health sector is witnessing an eleventh-hour rush to buy mandatory health insurance before a June 30 deadline, authorities said on Thursday.

The spike in demand is in response to the health insurance law requiring sponsors to provide health coverage for workers.

Dr Haidar Al Yousuf, Director of Health Funding at the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to ensuring the health of all Dubai residents.

“We urge everyone to abide by the law, which aims to protect not only their dependents but also the sponsors,” said Al Yousuf in a statement.

“Having your dependents insured will not only protect and save their life in the case where they might need urgent medical intervention; it also protects the sponsor. If the sponsor insures the employee, they will only have to pay around Dh500 to get him/her medically covered for a whole year instead of paying thousands for one case.”

A study, he said, found that the cost of the essential benefits package is less than 1.5 per cent of employees’ monthly salary on average.

Roughly 75 per cent of Dubai residents have Dubai visas that have mandatory health insurance and it is expected that almost 95 per cent of residents with Dubai visas will have to come under the mandatory health insurance cover.

The mandatory insurance plan is currently in its third phase, which covers companies with 100 or less employees and includes every resident, including domestic workers and dependents of employees.

Al Yousuf said that 30 to 40 per cent of those who fall under the third phase have already been covered.

Employers can find all information they need in an Employer Information Pack downloadable from www.isahd.ae, the website dedicated to providing information on implementation of the law.

Health officials, meanwhile, say while penalties will not immediately be imposed on individual sponsors who fail to insure themselves, employees and dependents, the DHA stressed that the deadline for the mandatory Dubai health insurance plan remains as June 30.

The DHA launched workshops and roadshows to help businesses make sense of the law.

“At these workshops and roadshows, the companies who have been shortlisted to provide the basic insurance package — fixed between Dh550 and Dh700 — were invited to meet the public to help them acquire the insurance,” he said.

The roadshows and workshops will be taking place at Rashid Hospital from June 26 to 30, Hatta Hospital from July 11 to 14, Nad Al Hamar Health Centre from July 17 to 21, Al Barsha Health Centre from July 24 to 28 and Mizhar Health Centre from September 1 to 4.

Staff Report

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