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28 March 2024

How much do you pay for doctor? Dentist? Delivery? Do the budget check...

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By Majorie van Leijen

Do whopping hospital bills bother you a lot?

Do you often postpone visiting your doctor only because you are worried about the huge amount of bill you might have to pay?

You are not alone. We know healthcare can be expensive.

But there is a way out - just as any other product in the market there is a range of services catering to the ultra rich, as well as those on a tight budget.

Emirates 24|7 did some homework for you. We researched the various options for some of the most sought after health services: family medicine, dentistry and maternity.

Your medical rates differ not only by institution, but also by location.

Family medicine

The general practitioner is probably the most visited doctor - be it for a worrying pain, new pregnancy or common cold.

While some health care facilities offer a different rate for the specialist, others have a unified price tag for all regular visits.

The cheapest option we found was in Jebel Ali, where Aster clinic charges Dh50 or a regular checkup by the general practitioner.

A budget option more widely charged is Dh100 for a checkup, or a little higher. A good number of hospitals and clinics in Bur Dubai or Deira go by this rate.

In Karama, local residents' favourite Dr. Joseph Clinic offers Dh100 for a doctor's visit, so does Prime Hospital. Iranian Hospital offers a general practitioner visit at Dh120, and it costs Dh150 at Cedars Jebel Ali International Hospital.

Midrange options are available where the check-up costs the patient between Dh200 to Dh500.

Zulekha Hospital offers regular visit of a general practitioner for Dh210, while the specialist will charge Dh290. A consultation visit at Medicentre costs Dh300, while Medcare charges Dh400 for the same service.

High-end options include International Modern Hopsital, where the general practitioner consultation costs Dh500, Zahra Hospital where the charge is Dh525, Wellcare Hospital for Dh552 and American Hospital for Dh573

Although some clinics are known for their budget friendly doctor rates, there are some that charge according to location. These rates range from budget to high-end prices.

Bur Dubai, Deira and Jebel Ali is where you can save big buck.

While in Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residence ( JBR ) and gated communities such as Arabian Ranches will cost you more.

Aster clinic charges D100 for a doctor's visit in Bur Dubai, while the same service is availed for Dh170 in Dubai Marina and Dh300 in Arabian Ranches.

Mediclinic Middle East offers services across its hospitals and clinics for different ratings, with the hospital charging the patient the most at Dh552 for a general consultation. The same is offered for Dh397 in its clinic in Qusais and Dh344 in most uptown communities.

While Prime Healthcare group offers a budget-friendly consultation in its hospitals; patients are charged a slightly higher fee of Dh150 in its clinic.

Dentistry


In many health care facilities, visiting a dentist costs about the same as visiting a general practitioner as long as it concerns a regular checkup, although some charge a little higher.

Costs can quickly go up when certain procedures need to be carried out.

Further, prices differ according to location, with clinics offering different prices across its branches.

Karama houses some of the cheapest options with consultations offered for free in one clinic.

For people without health insurance a regular consultation with the dentist is for free at Dr. Joy Dental Clinic. However, the same clinic in Jumeirah charges any customer Dh200 for a checkup.

Dh120 is the charge for a regular checkup at Iranian Hospital, while it is Dh150 in Cedars Jebel Ali International Hospital, Dh200 in Prime Hospital, and Dh250 in the clinic of the same provider.

Zulekha Hospital offers a checkup for Dh290, Lifeline Hospital for Dh350, American Hospital for Dh400, Zahra Hospital for Dh425, Medcare for Dh520, while Mediclinic offers the same for Dh553 at most of its clinics.

Maternity

There are many options available when it comes to child delivery, and costs can vary from Dh7000 to Dh25,000 and above.

Prices vary greatly depending on whether you have a normal or Cesarean delivery, shared or private room and on the number of days spent in hospital, with two days being the standard.

Further, while some hospitals offer an antenatal package and delivery package, others charge antenatal care per visit. Clinics usually offer antenatal packages and tie up with hospitals to carry out the delivery, including high costs for enabling this service.

As for the delivery the cheapest option we found was in Iranian Hospital, which charges Dh7,000 for the procedure, while Aster Hospital offers the same for Dh7,200 and Zulekha for Dh7,500. This is for a normal delivery in a semi-private room, whereas antenatal visits are charged separately.

Cost for C-section procedure would shoot up, with some hospitals almost doubling the price. For example, Aster Hospital charges Dh15200 for a C-section in a shared room, while Zulekha Hospital charges Dh12,500 for the same.

Although these are considered budget-friendly hospitals bills can climb up easily.

In Aster Hospital a normal delivery in a private room costs Dh9,200, and the service is available in a deluxe room (Dh12,200) and a VIP room (14,200). C-section in these categories would cost Dh18,200, Dh23,200, and Dh28,200 respectively.

With very little options in the mid-range field, the costs of child birth easily shoots up to the 10 thousand and above category.

For a normal delivery in a shared room, Zahra Hospital charges Dh10,950, Medcare Hospital Dh11,550, American Hospital Dh11950, and City Hospital Dh14,000.

Again, C-section increases the bill substantially, with Dh20,570 charged in Medcare Hospital and Dh25,000 in Wellcare Hospital, to name a couple.

What is viable is the fact that these hospitals offer antenatal packages, rather than charging per visit. For example, an antenatal package in American Hospital is Dh5,950. Medcare offers a package for 12 weeks of pregnancy (Dh6300) and 28 weeks of pregnancy (Dh4,600).

We hope these tips will be helpful if you find yourself facing a staggering hospital bill. Health care is costly, but let’s be careful and not get into financial disaster because of it.

(Sutterstock)