Some patients benefitting from Dubai’s 2017 mandatory health insurance programme are using their cover "like a credit card" to top up treatments, regulators have said.
Speaking at the Dubai International Health Tourism Forum on Wednesday, Dubai Health Authority’s director of health funding, Dr Haidar Al Yousuf, said patients need to be aware of the extent of their cover and cannot expect to pay for extra treatment with their insurance cards.
“We expect our users to know their rights and obligations when using their health insurance. People must realise that health insurance cannot be used as a credit card,” he said.
He gave an example of a recent case of a woman who had maternity cover with her insurance policy for about Dh14,000.
After her delivery the bill was Dh11,000 so the woman wanted to use the remaining Dh3,000 for extra treatment.
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Some 4.7 million people are now covered under the mandatory insurance programme and Dr Al Yousuf said his department receives relatively few complaints.
“We only get around 200 to 250 complaints a month, or about 3,000 a year from the whole insured population,” he said.
“There is still work to be done, but it is a very small percentage, so we don’t see any worrying trends or major issues.
While most claims are honoured, some patients are still not checking the full extent of their cover before seeking treatment.
The DHA has taken steps to simplify policy details, and has used a minimum font size to avoid confusing small print, as well as printing terms of cover in Arabic and English.
“Declined claims account for less than 10 per cent of the total claims that are paid out to the industry,” said Dr Dennis Sebastian, regional director of the Health Reinsurance Group of America (RGA).
“In the UAE, the total claims paid out every year is about $2.5 billion, but we accept some claims are declined.
“Consumers need to be fully aware of the terms and conditions of their policies. When that doesn’t happen, the negative feeling towards insurers is created.”
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
AWARDS
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Trolls World Tour
Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
Rating: 4 stars
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
match info
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 37')
Atletico Madrid 1 (Costa 39')
Man of the match Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao)
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