Dubai shows the way in health care

To date, health care costs across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have been covered by various governments. However, they are increasingly recognising that they will not be able to fund their citizens’ health care needs indefinitely and are looking at new ways of covering the costs. The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has made progress on this front last month, bringing significant and much-needed health care reforms to the emirate. The DHA estimates that there are only one million people in Dubai with health insurance, leaving around two million people not covered and lacking access to even basic health care facilities.

In light of this, change was needed and the DHA announced earlier this year a new directive for compulsory health insurance for both residents of, and visitors to, the emirate. Under this new framework, all residents of Dubai must be provided with at least a basic level of health insurance by their employers and new visa applications will also require this as part of the entry criteria. While ensuring a positive step in protecting the health of the nation and the most vulnerable, the new system will undoubtedly bring challenges to all parties involved. The government will need to secure stakeholder support and understanding at many levels to ensure the infrastructure for the transition is in place; insurance providers will need to have a consolidation strategy ready; employers will need to look at ways to manage the new health care cost within its organisation and be well-equipped to respond to claims; and regulators will need to look at how the model is scalable across the region to address the health care burden at the GCC level.

In this move, Dubai aims to go from a partly insured to a 100 per cent insured society. The new law is also an integral part of DHA’s vision and strategy to grow Dubai into a quality health care hub, with a strong legislation and medical system and excellent hospitals, doctors and of course equipment. With its increasing focus on quality medicine — as well as the system to provide it — DHA is set to make Dubai enter a new era of health care, making it more credible, modern and accessible than ever before. The new regulations will be rolled out over the next 18 months in several phases, with everyone entitled to at least a basic package of cover, which must include emergency services, access to a general physician, referral to specialists, tests and investigations, surgical procedures and maternity care.

The reforms will see private employers covering, for the first time in the emirate, a significant proportion of health care costs, reducing reliance on the government and perhaps, more importantly, government spending in this area. The DHA estimates that the costs will equate to around 1.5 per cent of a company’s payroll, on an average.

Dubai is committed to becoming a key destination for medical tourism in the world. Taking steps to develop a strong and high-quality health care system for its own residents, despite the challenges, will help Dubai go a long way towards achieving this goal.

Lisa Welsh is the head of health care, Hill+Knowlton Strategies.