Does Health Insurance Cover Chronic Conditions

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

It is very important to get health insurance plans that offer protection against chronic conditions. The main reason for this protection is that the expenses to treat chronic diseases can be very huge. In extreme cases, people may even need lifelong treatment for chronic illnesses. However, the good news is that best health insurance in Dubai offers coverage for such conditions and you can get good treatment at affordable rates for a long duration. You will also get proper coverage for pre-existing conditions however you need to understand the clauses mentioned in the policy document.

What Qualifies as Chronic Condition According to the Health Insurance Companies?

When it comes to offering coverage for chronic conditions, you need to understand the point of view of insurance companies as they take various risk factors into consideration while providing the coverage for the same. In this regard, life-threatening conditions like heart disease, cancer, kidney failure, etc. are given coverage under this type of health insurance policy. As per the guidelines of DHA, no insurance company can deny the coverage for chronic conditions and they may only impose a waiting period to offer cover for such conditions.

How Long Before you Can Get Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions?

In most cases, you need to wait for nearly six months to get coverage for chronic conditions. The same applies to other pre-existing conditions. However, some people may not be willing to wait for such a long duration in order to get coverage for chronic conditions and pre-existing diseases. In that situation, choosing private insurance companies in Dubai is the best option as they may offer such covers without any waiting period.

Best Way to Avoid Waiting Period for Pre-Existing Condition Coverage

When you do not want to wait for six months to get coverage for chronic conditions, you can choose to deal with private insurance companies that offer several plans for immediate cover in such circumstances. In this way, the coverage for chronic conditions begins from the day you take the health insurance Dubai. However, you need to understand that the premium rates for such policies will be higher than the regular policies offered with a waiting period.

Different Types of Health Insurance Plans in Dubai

Individual Coverage: This is the most common way to get health insurance in Dubai and you can choose any service provider of your choice. It is suited for individuals who are not working or who need additional coverage apart from the one offered by their employer.
Family Coverage: This is a good way to provide health coverage for all the members of your family in a single insurance policy. The family health insurance plans in Dubai offer a common cover for all the members of the family. Therefore, with this plan, you can ensure that the health needs of all the members of your family are secured with a single policy.
Group Coverage: Every company has to provide mandatory health cover for the employees depending on their earnings. In this regard, they prefer to take the Group health insurance in Dubai that offers coverage for all the employees of the company. It can be taken for any number of employees and this is cost effective when compared to taking individual coverage for each employee.
Coverage Offered By The Employer: As per the new guidelines of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), it is mandatory for every employer to provide a minimum of Essential Benefit Plan (EBP) cover for all the employees. If the employee is earning a salary of more than DH4000, the company should provide a higher than EBP coverage. Apart from that, this cost of buying insurance cannot be passed on to the employee in any manner. In this way, working people can get mandatory coverage from their employers without any cost.

Is it Mandatory to Buy Health Insurance in Dubai?

It is now compulsory to get health coverage for every person working or residing in Dubai. Not only that, even people visiting Dubai for tourism and work-related reasons also need to have the mandatory cover proposed by the DHA.
In the event of not having insurance coverage for working professionals, the company can lose its registration license and they will also have to pay a hefty penalty for the violation. It is now the responsibility of the employer to provide the minimum health security cover for all the employees.
The coverage offered depends on the salary of the employee and workers earning more than DH4000 need higher coverage than the prescribed mandatory cover.
This also applies to domestic helps and homeowners need to provide the basic coverage to their domestic helpers.
Even as an individual, you need the EBP coverage as mandated by the government. This applies when you are not having coverage from your employer or sponsor.
If you are not taking the EBP coverage or any other health cover, you will not be able to renew the UAE visa and this can affect your employment and stay in this region. Apart from that, you may also have to pay a hefty fine at a later stage when you go for visa renewal.

Getting treatment for chronic conditions can be a costly affair and only a good insurance plan will come to your rescue in this situation. All you need to do is to take decent health insurance in Dubai and mention all the details about your pre-existing conditions. In this way, you can rest assured that any medical treatment needed in the future can be provided easily using the insurance policy.