The United Arab Emirates is known for its gigantic and wondrous skyline and tourism destinations but the people who have been living in any of its seven states are well aware of the fact that the medical services presented in this part of the world are second to none. Especially, the expats living in Dubai have access to some of the most amazing medical facilities to be found on the planet. In the recent decades, the local authorities have chalked out insurance regulations which have helped the people in gaining access to quality insurance services in the UAE. The state of Abu Dhabi took the lead a decade ago when it made it mandatory for employers to arrange for medical insurance to all of their workers and their dependents. Dubai followed the suit in 2016 and now all the companies or employers in the state have to provide medical insurance facility to their workers and their dependents. Moreover, Dubai also offers Saad health insurance initiative for its citizens.

According to the laws in Dubai, a company has to arrange for basic health insurance of every employee that it hires, and the insurance plan should also cover the dependents of their employees. The initiative was launched to give the working class access to expensive but quality healthcare facilities across Dubai. This initiative is titled as Essential Benefit Plan (EBP), which was initiated by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) to provide healthcare facilities to all of Dubai citizens at an affordable rate.

 

The EBP initiative is a mandatory health insurance program for domestic help, including nannies, housemaids, drivers, and cooks, etc. who earn 4,000 AED or less per month and their dependents including children, old parents, and spouse. The EBP is valid only inside the UAE and doesn’t cover overseas treatments. A person can avail up to 150,000 AED per annum worth of medical treatment under the EBP.

Some of the major benefits of having an EBP are here as follow:

  1. The EBP costs only 2,500 AED per year which is way less when compared with a regular health insurance which carries an annual premium of 15,000 AED. Moreover, the EBP premium for domestic help with age up to 65 years is only 650 AED per year. Similarly, the EBP premium for non-working married females from age 18 years up to 45 years is 1,600 AED per year.
  2. The best aspect of the EBP initiative is that the insured will have to pay only 20 percent of the total cost of the medical bill, which may include diagnosis, examination, tests, and surgeries. These expenses should not exceed 1,000 AED per year. The EBP insured pays 30 percent on medicines up to 1,500 AED per annum per person.
  3. The EBP accounts for complete insurance on emergency healthcare, immunization or preventive medicine for children and the newborn, and ambulance service during emergency. Under the mother’s insurance plan, a newborn is insured for 30 days from the date of birth.

The EBP initiative also covers medical emergencies in Abu Dhabi and other states of the United Arab Emirates.

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