Healthcare in the UAE

by Cindy


With so much talk in the USA about health care, we thought we would give you an idea of our experiences and insurance coverage here in the UAE. We knew from talking to others that we expected it to be comparable to the USA. We were even in touch with one woman who had her first child in Dubai and seriously considered returning to have her second in the UAE rather than in the USA. While we do not have the need for obstetric services, we can tell you about some of our experiences thus far and how we have paid for them.

Heath Care Experiences
We have already blogged about my first visit for a head cold. We have since figured out that you can buy most 'prescription' medications as 'over the counter' drugs here so when we get sick, we just head straight to the pharmacy for the antibiotics rather than to the doctor for the prescription. Insurance pays for all of the medication, but even if it didn't, they are about $10 for a week's supply.

We needed malaria pills for our upcoming trip to Kenya - we just walked over and got those from the pharmacy as well. The campus clinic didn't have the yellow fever shot so we had to go into town for that one. We were not sure what to expect but it was comparable to a free health clinic in the USA. We waited for about 20 minutes, got our shots (in separate male and female rooms) and then were finished. It took us longer to drive there and back than it did at the clinic.

The birth control I took in the USA is not available here so I have had to switch to something new. I visited the highly recommended American Hospital of Dubai to check on my options and was pleased to find that the recommended options here were in line with those of my Dr. in Lubbock as well as my dear friend Elaine, who is an OB-GYN, and patiently answers all of my questions. The clinic was clean, very well equipped and full of expats. In no way would you have known or felt you were in a foreign country if it was not for the dozens of different languages being spoken around you.

There was another Dr. who came highly recommended that is much closer to our apartment that I did visit once. While I found her to be professional and competent, the facilities and staff left much to be desired.

Health Care Coverage
We have insurance coverage through the University that runs us about 9,664Dhs / $2,633.34 annually. We have a 70 Dhs / $19 co pay when we go to a physician that is not on campus. After that we have 100% coverage and that coverage is Worldwide!! I'm not sure what Obama is pushing there in the USA but at least I know I'm covered no matter where I go!

A couple of other notables - any birth control or birth control consultation is not covered by insurance. And (our parents should stop reading here) "Emergency Medical Repatriation and Repatriation of Mortal Remains" is 100% covered. So even if something unfortunate happens to us, we can be buried in Texas.