Mandatory Health Insurance In Northern Emirates: Quick Guide

On January 1, 2025, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Human Resources, in collaboration with other government regulators, released a law making health insurance mandatory for Northern Emirates residents.

Previously, such requirements existed only in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and new policies for Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah are dedicated to standardizing the state's insurance market and providing every individual with meaningful coverage, even in affordable packages.

Today, we'll review recent publications and expert opinions to determine how recent insurance policy changes will affect the Northern Emirates healthcare system.

What's Happened?

The UAE is well known for its state insurance policies, due to which most of the UAE population has medical coverage. Thus, a publication from the Crescent Journal of Medical and Biological Sciences demonstrated a rapid growth of insured residents in the country:

• 41% – 2013
• 55% – 2015
• 69% – 2017
• 93% – 2025

These indicators become possible due to strict government laws, and the released Basic Health Insurance (BHI) package is one of them. This initiative obligates companies and sponsors to provide insurance for two major groups:

• Private Sector Employers
• Domestic workers (nannies, drivers, gardeners, and other household staff)

Why it's important?

BHI is a crucial step for the UAE's global healthcare industry, allowing it to provide all residents with essential medical services coverage, such as diagnostics, surgeries, maternity, and emergency care. The basic package is affordable — just 320 Dh per year — but it still does not cover pregnancy, childbirth, or dental services.

According to the new law, all employers should provide their staff with appropriate coverage until the final deadline – June 30. Otherwise, they can face significant fines ranging from 500 to 150,000 Dh.

What do experts think?

According to Shory, the local insurance company, the BHI will add about 3 million individuals to the state's insurance pool. Such significant changes will push forward local healthcare providers, forcing them to update their internal processes to handle a new "wave" of insurers.

Still, these challenges will not cause complications for local facilities, especially considering that about 30-40% of insurance companies already offer coverage required by novel BHI, according to Mustafa Oliyath Vazayil, director of Gargash Insurance Company.

What does it mean for dental clinics?

For now, the mandatory insurance package does not include dental services in the Northern Emirates. Still, insurers may find more comprehensive packages that include some dentistry procedures. Thus, preparing your billing system to work with various insurance companies is essential to save priceless minutes on administrative processes.

A suitable and comprehensive decision is to implement an electronic medical system with built-in billing software so that you can have all your digital tools in one place.

Fortunately, Remedico has this solution! Recently, we significantly upgraded our web-based clinic management software, integrating insurance coverage as one of the standard payment types, along with cash and cards.

Two simple steps and you are ready to go:

1. Register an insurance company and attach its coverage to specific patient
2. Choose an "Insurance" payment method to process an invoice.

Schedule a demo now to try our tools with your hands!