A Guide to Mandatory Medical Insurance Law in Dubai

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has issued a law requiring all Emiratis and Dubai expats, including dependents, to have insurance in place to pay for their emergency and curative healthcare needs.

The law applies to all economic areas of Dubai including free zones, with its implementation phased in over the past couple of years, initially targeting companies with 1,000-plus employees and then moving to those with more than 100 in July.

Incidentally, no residence visas will be issued now in absence of mandatory medical insurance.

How Medical Insurance Works in Dubai

Each year, the DHA will set a price range within which Participating Insurers (PIs) must set their premium pricing for the Essential Benefits Plan, the minimum level of benefits any plan can have.

For 2015, the premium range has been set at Dh520 to Dh730 per insured per year.

Companies with existing policies for employees earning less than Dh4,000 will need to satisfy the following two criteria;

– The scheme benefits must meet or exceed those of the Essential Benefits Plan.

– Cover must be provided only by PIs.

If necessary, employers will have to restructure their existing arrangements to meet this criteria by the first renewal date (and no later than 12 months) after the implementation deadline specified for a company of their size.

How Mandatory Medical Insurance Law Will Impact the Employees

Be aware of employee rights:

Firstly it is paramount that any employee understands his or her rights.

Those earning less than Dh4,001 must have a plan provided by one of the nine PIs and cover levels must be equal to the minimum guidelines set out by the DHA.

Spouses, dependents and domestic workers

It will be the responsibility of the employee or sponsor to arrange insurance coverage for their own spouse, dependents and domestic workers and to pay the premiums directly to the insurer.

. While some companies will offer to insure an employee’s children at no extra cost, this cannot be on the basic DHA plan.

It also only works in the UAE so would not cover someone electing for treatment overseas.

What Medical Insurance plans must include

The minimum level of benefits that must be provided by any health insurance plan offered in Dubai must include:

Learn more about how expats can avail medical insurance in Dubai.