Health system profile - United arab Emirates - What is GIS - World ...

Health Systems Profile- UAE Regional Health Systems Observatory- EMRO
for chemical supplies, and 26 million dirhams for other medical supplies such as
antiseptics, plastic containers, suture materials, syringes etc. The budget proposal also
reports that consumables for every open heart surgery operation costs 13,000 Dhms,
excluding the cost of the valve prosthesis that costs on the average 6,000 dirhams.
Planned changes
The Ministry of Health is currently considering seriously the introduction of compulsory
medical insurance for all residents. Residents will be required to carry either a public or a
private medical insurance. All expatriates applying for a medical fitness certificate, that is
a prerequisite for securing a residency permit, will need to demonstrate that they do
carry a medical insurance. There is currently consideration for the establishment of a
supreme Authority for Medical Insurance in the UAE.
Key issues and concerns
Financing the health services presents its own set of problems. Like all countries that
have essentially a publicly-financed health care system, the MOH has to compete with
any and all other sectors for federal money. With the increase in public spending, the
decrease in state revenues, the rapid escalation in the cost of health care and the
increase in the number of people it serves, the money allocated by the federal budget is
always going to remain less than what is expected and wished. The mere availability of
the supply generates the demand for medical services. Furthermore, there are few if any
barriers to health care: there is no financial toll, little queuing, no problems with
accessibility and little social inconvenience.
Health officials have to-date relied on additional money to be provided by the local
government to complement the federal budget. The sum has grown to be quite
substantial, yet more is needed and will continue to be required.
6.3 Insurance
The UAE Government provides its nationals with a health care system administered by
its Federal Ministry of Health. For expatriates (non-UAE nationals), which currently
comprise 80% of the population a payment of Dhs 300 (USD 82) per year is required to
obtain a health card which entitles the holder to access to medical services at all MOH
facilities for minimal fees. The health card and/or medical insurance is a mandatory
requirement for each expatriate and without it expatriate workers will not get a work
permit in the UAE. In the past, even temporary visitors to the UAE were also able to get
relatively free health services during their stay in the UAE. These costs comprise of
approximately 80% of the MOH budget.
MOH officials confirm that although the Ministry collects approximately 500 million
dirhams annually in medical fees it spends five times more this amount on medical
services. The MOH also believes that medical services and medicine is being misused.
Even people on visit and transit visas go to government hospitals and undergo
complicated surgery almost free of charge which would cost them Dhs 50,000 to Dhs
250,000 in private hospitals elsewhere.
In lieu of the above and to ease its burden, the MOH announced two new policy
decisions relating to the revision of medical charges in government hospitals, clinics or
health centers as well as the dispense of medical prescriptions to patients. The first,
which took effect on May 1, 2001 states that government clinics will no longer provide
fee medicines to expatriate cardholders, but they will have to purchase them from
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