NICU Costs in Dubai - A Premature Delivery Question | ExpatWoman.com
 

NICU Costs in Dubai - A Premature Delivery Question

20
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 March 2011 - 12:46

Hi
I conceived my twin girls via IVF last year and was expecting a May 2011 delivery. My IVF doctor, Dr Pankaj at Conceive (who I loved btw) told me to go to Al Wasl as they had the best NICU and preterm labour is a risk for twins. He had been seeing us for the first 3 months, but after that he told us we needed to find a hospital for delivery.
Though I was not happy at the prospect of going to Al WAsl, we got registered there as they do not accept registrations after a certain time into the pregnancy. I had to skip work for appointments and scans, and each time we saw a different doctor, which really annoyed me. In short, I was not very happy with the care I received.

However, at 28 weeks, I felt slight pain and decided to go to the ER. It turned out I was in labour and gave birth to my twin girls at 28 weeks. They were rushed to the NICU and have been there since then. It been more than a month, and its been hard to be away from them...
The elder twin was 1.1 kg at birth, and is doing well now. She is gaining weight and should be released from the hospital once she reaches 1.8 kg.
The younger twin was 0.94kg at birth and is still on the ventilator. She also had an infection so we are more worried about her.

The cost of NICU is from AED 3900 for ICU to AED 2200 for normal care at AlWasl.
Once we realized we were in for the long haul, my husband spoke to his insuarnce company but they only cover AED 50K at this stage. He can apply for the next tier of coverage, which covers more in April, but it wont be applicable on the girls' NICU bill.
My insurance company refused to cover the girls till they are discharged from the NICU.

So my worry is paying the NICU bill. We estimate the costs to be around AED 200,000.
Has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing in Dubai? Do you know if AlWasl offers payment options like installments or something to parents?

I am very happy with the NICU though, and I am glad that I chose AlWasl in the end, because it was the right choice for the babies. The staff and care is amazing, and from what I have seen, the cheapest in Dubai for NICU care.

Thanks.

3
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 27 March 2011 - 13:05
Tania, although I do not have experience with this but I know that you are able to negotiate payment terms at Al Wasl. They do have a system in place, which of course, they do not publicise (obviously for obvious reasons). All you need to do is ASK for it. My love to your little ones and good luck to you.
1996
Posts
EW EXPERT
Latest post on 27 March 2011 - 13:00
Wouldn't your next step be to discuss this with the accounts department at the hospital? I know when our son was in NICU in Australia for around a year and many more months on the ward the first thing we did-once we had a second to ourselves-was to go downstairs and find out where we stood with regards to cost.I have a photo of our baby son with a 5 metre long computer generated bill!!! Came in handy when he was a ratty teenager to remind him how much he was worth to us! Wishimg you strength to face the months ahead-it isn't easy but every small step forwards is wonderful to see.
 
 

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