The prohibitive cost of treatment for premature babies, or preemies as they are called, has been a matter of acute concern for parents in Dubai for a while now.
Currently, the daily cost of keeping a preemie in a government hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can be anywhere between Dh2,000-Dh5,000, with private hospitals costing even more.
Taking into account the variance factor in the length of preemie management, bills can go from exorbitant to staggering and many hapless parents undergo extraordinary struggles to be able to pay them off. Much of this stress is due to health insurance coverage not including maternity issues. But now, this long-neglected area has been effectively addressed with Dubai’s new medical insurance rules.
By 2016, not only will every Dubai resident have mandatory health insurance, the insurance will also include maternity treatment with a minimum coverage of Dh150,000.
The singular aspect of this rule is that the coverage for maternity will be part of the basic insurance package and thus be available to all. This is heartening news and an acknowledgement of how important it was to correct the imbalance with regard to the treatment and management of preemies.
This will tremendously alleviate the sufferings of parents who have to deal with the twin traumas of emotional agony and financial worry as their infant struggles for life.
While the former is arguably an act of providence and not entirely in our control, the latter is a policy matter that good governance can implement, as demonstrated by Dubai’s health authorities.
