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Insure employees and avoid high bills, urges DHA

There is an impressive demand for health insurance this year, says Dubai Health Authority (DHA). DHA has received large numbers of registrations ahead of the June 30 deadline, officials said on Thursday.
Penalties will be not be imposed immediately on individual sponsors who fail to insure themselves, their employees and dependants, but the deadline date remains mandatory. DHA has also launched workshops and road shows to help the public meet their insurance teams easily before deadline.
Dr Haidar Al Yousuf, Director of Health Funding, DHA, said that they launched road shows at hospitals and health centres across Dubai. “Companies shortlisted to provide the basic insurance package — fixed between Dh550 and Dh700 — were invited to meet the public to help them acquire insurance,” he said.
All marketing activities by health insurance providers must be approved by the department before circulation, the Health Funding Department of DHA has stated, in a circular. This is to ensure credibility and transparency, and applies to all forms of media, and any party involved in marketing medical insurance.
According to the Dubai Health Insurance Law No 11 of 2013 that came into effect in January 2014, the legal liability for every sponsor is to provide an essential insurance package so that those earning under Dh4,000 per month have adequate cover. “We urge everyone to abide by the law, which aims to protect not only their dependents but also the sponsors,” said Al Yousuf.
Many cases have seen dependants falling ill and requiring immediate treatment, and the sponsors ending up paying bills of tens of thousands of dirhams. “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 a case.”
Around 75 per cent of Dubai’s population already have visas with mandatory health insurance; it is expected that almost 95 per cent of Dubai residents will be covered soon. The mandatory insurance plan is currently in its third phase, covering companies with 100 or less employees and every resident, including domestic workers and dependents of employees.
Employers can find all the information they need on www.isahd.ae
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com