A Dive into the Specs of Preventive Healthcare Plans

The above plans and premiums are for AED 1,000,000 Sum insured for 1 Adult of 30 Years for Dubai city.

It’s a known fact that the better way to deal with health related issues is simply by preventing yourself from getting them in the first place instead of getting treated when you have it. Hence the adage – Prevention is better than cure. But the fact is that prevention can cost you as much as the treatment itself. This means, even though you have all the right intentions of preventing yourself from falling ill, financial restraints may make it hard to seek the right consultation and preventive measures. Preventive healthcare plans are designed to tackle this very dilemma. Just like health insurance plans cover your diagnostics and treatment that comes after it, preventive healthcare plans seek to cover the preventive services you take in order to stay disease-free.

What are Preventive Healthcare Insurance Plans?

As the name suggests, preventive healthcare insurance plans are the ones that offer insurance coverage for the preventive services we take. This can include consultation for a potential ailment, regular health checkups, vaccinations as a form of prevention, dental care, diagnostics tests, etc. Basically, any healthcare service that can be categorized as a preventive measure to control the infection of a disease can be covered by these plans.

Features and Benefits of Preventive Healthcare Plans

Free Preventive Health Checkups: Most preventive healthcare plans in the UAE offers free preventive health checkups throughout the year. The policyholder and other insured members of the plan can easily get the consultation services reimbursed using their preventive healthcare plan.
On-Call Consultations: Apart from in-person consultations and full body annual checkups, policyholders can also utilise their preventive healthcare plans to cover on-call consultations. Most newer, more progressive preventive healthcare plans come with this feature as well.
Discounts on Pharmaceuticals: Even when preventive healthcare plans are designed to support the preventive healthcare measures, many also offer discounts on pharmaceuticals as well. The extent of the discount you can score may differ on a plan by plan basis though.
Lower Premiums: The best thing about preventive healthcare plans is that they can be obtained at significantly lower premium amounts, especially as compared to basic health insurance plans. The services covered are quite comprehensive as per the industry standards as well as medical requirements. This simply spells cost-effectiveness for all policyholders.
Cover for Diagnostic Services as Well: In addition to preventions and pharmaceuticals, preventive healthcare plans also cover diagnostic tests and radiology tests. This ensures that the insured get the all services they need.

Key Inclusions of Preventive Healthcare Plans

Doctor consultations – physical or telephonic – for primary doctor visits.
Full-body medical check-ups – generally covered for only one check-up per year.
Concessions and discounts on pharmaceuticals.
Diagnostic tests and radiology tests.
Dental services, and check-ups.
Some treatments, procedures and surgeries, as per the extent of the plan in concern.
Flu shots and other kinds of vaccinations. This can include polio, measles, mumps, etc. Vaccinations are generally covered for their complete costs.

Health Insurance VS Preventive Healthcare Insurance Plans

Parameters	Medical Insurance UAE	Preventive Healthcare Plans
Basic Definition	Designed to cover diagnostic services and treatment for illnesses covered	Designed to cover preventive healthcare services and some diagnostic services
Insured People	Have different plans depending on the type of individual concerned	Offer almost a similar kind of coverage for all individuals
Pre-Existing Diseases Cover	Includes pre-existing diseases	Includes pre-existing diseases
Premium Amounts	Have a comparatively higher premium	Have a comparatively lower premium
Claim Process	May have a relatively more complex claim process	Have a very simple claim process
Diagnostic Services	Covered for the most parts	Covered along with radiology and lab tests
Serious Illness Cover	Covered with diagnosis and treatment	Not covered for treatment. Diagnosis may be covered.

Types of Preventive Healthcare Plans

Basic Preventive Healthcare Plans – for services like annual check-ups, consultations, etc.
Plans for Children – consist of special arrangements to cover children’s vaccination, paediatrician visits and other preventive services.
Plans for Family – cover your whole family under a single plan. It can include services like doctor consultations, specialist visits, vaccination, etc.
Women-Specific Plans – focus on women health and preventive measures required to maintain it.
Heart Disease Preventive Plans – focus on prevention for heart diseases. May include services such as doctor consultations, diagnostic tests and more.
Senior Citizen Plans – designed to tackle the needs of senior citizens specifically.

Do You Need Preventive Healthcare Plans? Why?

Just like we all need preventive healthcare, preventive healthcare insurance plans are also a modern-day requirement for us all. Medical insurance in the UAE is essential for many reasons. One of these reasons - the rising cost of healthcare – is common for preventive healthcare in the UAE as well. With inflation in the cost of treatment services for illnesses, the cost for preventive services has also risen. This makes having insurance plans for preventive healthcare a necessity rather than an option. Since health check-ups are extremely important to ensure your safety from some of the most infectious diseases, it becomes important to back yourself up with preventive healthcare insurance.

In a Nutshell

Alteration of lifestyle is something out of our control for most parts now. With the fast-paced world and the busier-than-ever lives that we lead, even the most basic needs of our bodies are not fulfilled ideally. In light of that, preventive healthcare services take on the form of the last line of defense against illnesses. Make sure that you and your family are insured with a proper preventive healthcare insurance plan along with having medical insurance in the UAE. Compare the different types, different packages available and different options before you finalise your choice.