DHA Pricing of medical services and impact on health insurance
The Dubai Health Authority has announced that they are restructuring the prices of medical services as well as medicines offered by their own entities. According to Dr. Marwan Ahmed Al Zarouni, who heads the restructuring committee, the intention of this decision is to improve and fund the medical services provided by DHA. At present, the returns the DHA gets do not even cover the costs incurred for providing services to the public.
The aim is to balance between what the DHA spends on its entities and the quantum of profit it earns. DHA wants to maintain high quality in their services. They want to improve or expand their services wherever needed for which they need funds. Once the restructuring of the prices is done, they will be able to cover at least the costs of the services.
The proposal will help set the prices for the procedures, treatments and services so they conform to the international benchmark because the current prices are much lower than those of services offered by their international counterparts. He points out that the government is now spending billions for providing high quality medical services to people. That is the reason a committee has been constituted to work on this proposal.
Another benefit from this exercise is that the healthcare providers in the private sector will be forced to reconsider their pricing and will lower their prices. Since the prices will be fixed at international levels, insurance companies will have them as a benchmark. Healthcare providers in the private sector who are now charging exorbitantly will know that the claims that exceed what the DHA entities charge will not be entertained by the insurance companies. The public will also know the difference between what the private healthcare providers charge for their medical services and what the DHA entities charge. Private healthcare providers may not want to lose patients and so, will be forced to lower their prices.
Dr. Marwan Ahmed Al Zarouni says that they have implemented the changes at Rashid Hospital. They are now awaiting approval of the government for implementing the proposal in all the DHA entities. Once the Sadaa Health Insurance is implemented in Dubai, the new price structure will be applicable for all the nationals and expats because Sadaa provides insurance coverage to those who are not currently covered by any government healthcare program.
UAE nationals as well as expats need not fear about the new medical costs in the DHA entities because Sadaa Health insurance will take care of them even if they are not covered by any other government healthcare program.
The disparity between the costs of services of private healthcare providers and those of services offered by DHA entities can be eliminated by this proposal. There will be an improved collaborative environment in the health insurance field. The public may also feel that they are treated fairly. The prices of the services offered by DHA entities have remained unchanged for several years. This proposal will put an end to this long-pending issue.
