Health Insurance coverage during Pregnancy - HELP! | ExpatWoman.com
 

Health Insurance coverage during Pregnancy - HELP!

3
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 19 June 2011 - 14:15

Does anyone know how to get medical aid/health insurance for pregnancy and birth? We have been told that we have to be with the same insurance company for 3 years before they will consider pregnancy coverage. We are at wits end! First baby is due end Jan and plan to have it here in Dubai. ANy advice/suggestions welcome.

332
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 19 June 2011 - 19:46
Does anyone know how to get medical aid/health insurance for pregnancy and birth? We have been told that we have to be with the same insurance company for 3 years before they will consider pregnancy coverage. We are at wits end! First baby is due end Jan and plan to have it here in Dubai. ANy advice/suggestions welcome. Hi there - if you do a search on this topic you should find previous threads discussing insurance options. I was in your position too a few months ago when I discovered that I was pregnant and also found out that my work did not provide maternity insurance. At the time, Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company was the only insurer that provided immediate maternity cover in the UAE - trust me, I did a LOT of research. Immediate cover for a woman under 30 was AED15K and for those over 30, AED19K. I am 33 and decided to take out the insurance as I wanted the assurance knowing that I would never be out of pocket more than the cost of insurance and I wanted to go to a private hospital (note Al Wasl's prices have gone up recently as suznz points out). Is it worth it? From my perspective, I would say so. Natural delivery at City Hospital is 12K - ADNIC is paying in full. I have seen the OB at City about 10 times or so and have paid 35 dirhams per visit (visits have included blood tests, scans and urine collection). I also had an emergency scare and had to visit the emergency department one night. Paid 50 dirhams for diagnostics including blood tests and heart monitoring. The other thing to note about medical care in the UAE is that even if you go through the public system, God forbid anything should go wrong during the course of your pregnancy or labour, the medical care is not free and you will have to pay. I am aware of a couple who were served a bill for over AED100K due to complications their newborn suffered. All the very best to you.
88
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 19 June 2011 - 19:14
Al Wasl is definitely the cheapest hospital if you do not have insurance that will cover your pregnancy. I just had my dd there on the 1st June and thought the care we both received was very good (I didn't have insurance as it was cancelled by my employer when I declared my pregnancy). The antenatal package costs AED5,000 and for a normal delivery it is AED7,000 (I think it's AED10,000 or 11,000 for a c-section). I was also admitted for a week during my pregnancy and thought the cost was very reasonable. When looking for insurance while pregnant, we found that there was only one company that would insure a pregnant woman but there fees were too high (I think it was Daman). Although Al Wasl would not have been my first choice, the care I received for myself (I was high risk with DVT and preeclampsia and ended up having to be induced at 38 weeks) and my baby (who had an etopic heartbeat) was second to none. I hope you can sort something out with your insurance company. Good luck and all the best with your pregnancy
1109
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 19 June 2011 - 15:20
you could always just buy into a package at the government hospitals... i think it's AED 7500 for normal delivery at Al Wasl Hospital or Dubai Hospital... that covers all antenatal checkups and the actual delivery and immediate post delivery care for both mother and baby
152
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 19 June 2011 - 15:12
Try some of the bigger names for insurance. What they will tell you is that materinity may be covered after6 months, which normally refers to the inpatient (i.e.delivery). take a breather. :) check out Daman insurance to see if they can help. If not, maybe RSA or Allico. Best of luck. Also remember to have someone explain what they mean by "with them for 3 years", and what coverage they are talking about. :)
 
 

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