Dubai Health Authority (DHA) recorded an impressive demand by Mandatory Health Insurance buyers ahead of the Dubai Mandatory Health insurance June 30th deadline.

While penalties will not immediately be imposed on individual sponsors who fail to insure themselves, employees and dependents, DHA stressed that the deadline for the mandatory Dubai health insurance plan remains as June 30th.

DHA launched workshops and road shows to help the public easily meet the Dubai Mandatory Insurance— as it approaches its June 30th deadline.

To help individual sponsors meet this deadline with ease Dr Haidar Al Yousuf, Director of Health Funding at DHA said the authority launched road shows that took place in different hospitals and health centres across Dubai.

“At these workshops and roadshows, the companies who have been shortlisted to provide the basic insurance package—  fixed between Dh550 and Dh700—  were invited to meet the public to help them acquire the insurance,” he said.

The roadshows and workshops will be taking place at Rashid Hospital from June 26th to 30th , Hatta Hospital from July 11 to 14th, Nad Al Hamar Health Center from July 17 – 21, Al Barsha Health Center from July 24 to 28 and Mizhar Health Center from September 1 to 4.

The roadshow already took place at Latifa Hospital from June 14-19 and Dubai Hospital from June 20th to 23rd.

The Health Funding Department of DHA issued a circular regarding the marketing activities of health insurance providers to insure credibility and transparency, which states that all marketing material in regards to Mandatory Health Insurance must be approved by the department prior to circulation.

This applies to all forms of media and is applicable to any parties involved in marketing of the 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—  fixed between Dh550 and Dh700— so that those with salaries under Dh4,000 receive 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 , who added that there has been many cases where a depended suddenly fell ill and required immediate treatment causing the sponsor to cover costs that can reach to tens of thousands if dirhams.

“Having your dependents insured will not only protect and save their life in the case where they might need urgent medical intervention; it also protects the sponsor. 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 one case.”

In fact, Al Yousuf said a study found that the cost of the essential benefits package is less than 1.5 per cent of employees’ monthly salary on average.

 Around 75% of the Dubai population already have Dubai Visas that have mandatory health insurance and it is expected that almost 95 per cent of resident with Dubai visas will have to come under the mandatory health insurance cover.

The mandatory insurance plan is currently in its third phase, which covers companies with 100 or less employees and includes every resident, including domestic workers and dependents of employees.

Al Yousuf revealed that 30 to 40 per cent of those who fall under the third phase have already been covered.

Employers can find all the information they need in an Employer Information Pack downloadable from www.isahd.ae, the website dedicated to providing information on implementation of the Law.