UAE: Insurance association explains when cosmetic surgery claims are allowed
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Mar 2024
Emirates Insurance Association health insurance committee chairman Abdel Muhsen Jaber, has said that health insurance covers cosmetic surgery costs if such surgery is due to a medical condition or a chronic disease that affects the health of the insured.
Mr Jaber told Emirates Today, “The basic rule for cosmetic surgeries is that they are not covered by the basic medical benefits schedule, but if there is a need to perform them, the case is studied, and it is usually classified as medical treatment for a disease and not cosmetic surgery.”
He said, “There are no standard procedures that can be applied to all medical cases that require plastic surgery, as each case is treated individually, and is the decision of the medical committee that decides the extent of the need for plastic surgery.”
The explanation was made in the wake of public demand that a review of how insurers treat cosmetic surgery, especially for children who are born with a congenital facial defect, which could affect their psychological health and requires large sums of money for treatment, or cases of chronic headaches, and other diseases that sometimes require medical treatment similar to plastic surgery. M