The insurance industry took on the task of paying for privatised health care after the government decided that the number of expatriates had become so large that it did not want to run a large free or state-subsidised system for the benefit of the entire population. After insisting that all expatriates get health insurance, the obvious possibility of excessive charges caused the government to take several steps in defining what is reasonable and what benefits must be offered, which are summed up in the Essential Benefits Package that defined the minimum permitted cover for all new policies sold in Dubai.
The latest change to this package was to add care for premature babies, who will now be treated under normal maternity insurance coverage, even if the baby requires a long stay at a neo-natal intensive care unit. This development is very welcome, because there have been heart-rending stories of parents who can ill-afford the exorbitant charges, but ran up bills that left them with staggering debts. Any change is welcome that makes people more at ease with the potential costs of events that are out of their control.
Dubai Health Authority reports that the number of births requiring extended stay in neo-natal care is just over 3 per cent of all births in Dubai and in only 0.1 per cent of those cases did the cost reach the recommended Dh150,000 cover, which the system will be able to look at. The important thing is that no one should have to worry about getting into debt over such things.
