UAE: Sheikh Mohammed cancels 20% co-pay on private treatment for Thiqa holders
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jun 2017
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, has ordered the scrapping of a 20% co-payment requirement for Emiratis who undergo private medical treatment.
The move means that Thiqa health insurance cardholders will be completely covered when receiving treatment at private healthcare facilities in Abu Dhabi, the Emirates News Agency reported.
The Thiqa scheme, set up in 2007, offers health insurance for UAE nationals. The initiative is delivered through a network of partner providers with the National Health Insurance Company – Daman, managing the programme on behalf of the government.
When the 20% co-payment was announced in June last year, Emiratis in long-term care expressed surprise and dismay.
The fee was waived in January for three long-term care centres in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, which said they absorb losses worth millions of dirhams after refusing to discharge patients who could not afford to pay.
Sheikh Mohamed, whose statement was issued during a visit to the Burjeel Hospital, stressed that the private healthcare sector should play a larger role in transforming Abu Dhabi’s healthcare ecosystem.
He also ordered a specialist medical college and a healthcare city to be established to strengthen the emirate as a destination for medical tourism and services. M