Dubai medical bill hike capped at 4.22% for 2015

Private healthcare providers in Dubai have been allowed to raise their fees by up to 4.22 per cent in 2015, according to an announcement by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).

The regulation will be applicable for all polyclinics, clinics and hospitals in Dubai.

The increase will be valid until the end of 2015, Essa Al Maidoor, DHA Director General, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Firms have until the end of this month to file for the allowed increase. However, they will have to justify the need to raise fees and also state by how much they will raise them.

The maximum has been fixed at 4.22 per cent according to the inflation rate of the past 12 months recorded by the Dubai Statistics Centre, said Maidoor.

The new price regulation model allows a percentage increase on existing prices of services, subject to approval of the DHA. A separate proposal is required for every service the health entity proposes to increase (like cauterisation procedure, MRI, CT scan etc.).

Only those firms can apply for the increase which are in compliance with DHA regulations, have no pending violations, and comply with smart regulatory tools like e-Claims and e-Prescriptions.

The deadline for applying for the increase is by end of November, and the price increase will be applicable for 2015.

“This means that the price increase is applicable for 12 months and healthcare entities will not be able to increase prices for a year. This ensures sustainability, is fair towards providers and at the same time protects patient rights,” added Al Maidoor.

“This model essentially aims to regulate price increases of health services in the private sector. The price increase will be regulated in a calculated and transparent way so that it facilitates a sustainable health system. The aim of the price regulation model is to ensure balance between allowing price increases and protecting patient’s interest.”

Dh6 billion e-Claims

The DHA has asked all private provides to comply with the e-Claims system. “Through the e-Claim link we can track the proper implementation of existing and approved price increases. In 2014, e-Claim portal received 900,000 claims per month and by the end of the year, the transactions will be worth approximately Dh6 billion,” added Dr Haider Al Yousuf, Director of Health Funding at the DHA.

He said the e-Claim link was used by 2,300 service providers who submitted their electronic claims to 44 insurance companies.

Twenty-three million services and 8 million claims were recorded from the beginning of this year and the portal was used by 13,500 physicians who dispensed more than 10 million medications.

He said since the implementation of the e-Claims portal in 2013, the utilization has increased and transactions have almost doubled.

“Price regulation of healthcare services is done in many countries. It is an important tool to ensure that quality is rewarded. This essentially means that price regulation incentivises quality outcomes,” Al Yousuf added.
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