DUBAI // The deadline is looming for small businesses to comply with the emirate’s mandatory health insurance law.
The Dubai Health Authority’s Mandatory Health Insurance Scheme ISAHD (Bringing Happiness) is expected to be fully enacted by all businesses by the end of June, ensuring all expatriates are covered by insurance.
The DHA is currently in the third and final phase of implementing the scheme on companies with less than 100 employees — including all spouses, dependents and domestic workers. DHA has completed the first phase that included companies with more than 1,000 in 2014 and the second phase, which included companies with 999 to 100 employees in 2015.
Dr Haidar Al Yousuf, director of public health funding at DHA, said that 75 per cent of Dubai expatriates are now covered by insurance, thanks to the mandatory health insurance.
“This means we have 25 per cent left to cover by June, we hope to have close to 100 per cent of Dubai expatriates covered by the insurance by the end of next month,” said Dr Al Yousuf.
He added that the implementation of the scheme — to have all Dubai residents covered by health insurance— is going according to the adopted timeframe.
Dr Al Yousuf said that linking the health insurance scheme to visa issuance and renewal in partnership with the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) contributed to the success of the implementation process.
Dr Al Yousuf called on all companies to hurry in insuring their employers before the end of June to avoid penalties imposed by Executive Council Resolution No. 7 of 2016.
Companies can get the health insurance packages that are in line with the scheme from the 46 health insurance companies approved by DHA, which includes nine companies that provide the essential benefits package.
Information related to insurance can be found at www.Isahd.ae and many packages feature on the ISAHD community marketplace www.community.isahd.ae.
Companies that fail to provide health insurance by the relevant deadline could face fines of up to Dh500,000. The Dubai Health Authority has also said that it will refuse to issue or renew work visas to employees who do not have health insurance coverage.
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