Team Blitz India
Healthcare cost is set to be much more manageable for UAE residents with the Government announcing a mandatory insurance scheme for all private sector employees and domestic workers. The scheme will be implemented from January 1, 2025.
According to a Khaleej Times report, the new scheme comes as a huge relief for employees who don’t have a company-sponsored health cover and can’t afford to pay for one. While premiums and costs may increase for employers, ensuring a good health benefits package will help them attract and retain talent.
Mandatory health insurance is currently applicable only for employees in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as these two emirates have enacted locally applicable laws. The new system obliges employers to protect their staff nationwide from healthcare costs.
Dubai, Abu Dhabi
In Dubai, it’s mandatory for employers to offer a package to their staff. The employees themselves are responsible for getting family members under their sponsorship (dependents) registered in a scheme. In Abu Dhabi, employers and sponsors must mandatorily offer coverage for their employees and their families (one spouse and three children under 18).
Once it is rolled out, employers and sponsors will be required to bear the costs for their staff and domestic workers. It’s not immediately clear if the law will obligate companies to pay for schemes for their employees’ family members.
Further, employers will need to get a healthcare package for their workers while issuing or renewing their residency permits. This means providing a plan to an employee or domestic worker could be linked to visa issuance or renewal, as is the case in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In both emirates, visas are not issued or renewed unless the applicant has valid health coverage.
No penal measures
Another aspect of this insurance is that right now no penal measures have been specified for the UAE-wide scheme.
The UAE has not yet spelt out what exactly the mandatory insurance would cover for beneficiaries. However, even essential benefits plans or basic packages — which employers in Dubai get for staff earning less than Dh4,000 a month — cover “emergencies, surgeries, medical diagnosis, medication, both outpatient and inpatient treatments, and maternity care”, according to insurance aggregator Policybazar.
“With that said, there are certain limitations and conditions in place along with co-insurance requirements where the insured person is responsible for a portion of the cost,” Policybazar wrote on its website.
