It's no secret that health insurance premiums around the world are rising above general inflation levels. This is especially the case here in the United Arab Emirates.
In the 2016 Global Medical Trends Survey, we share our forecast that total insurance premiums in the UAE are likely to increase by 15 percent that year, for the third year in a row.
In Dubai, the decision that mandatory health insurance coverage provided by employees should be included in any pre-existing situations contributed to the increases.
While an ever-evolving market could make it difficult to track health insurance inflation, it is likely to rise significantly from 9.5 percent in 2015.
With this in mind, it is increasingly important to ensure that your employees understand how to use their health insurance responsibly, to avoid increasing unnecessary costs.
In the 2016 Global Medical Trends Survey, we share our forecast that total insurance premiums in the UAE are likely to increase by 15 percent that year, for the third year in a row.
In Dubai, the decision that mandatory health insurance coverage provided by employees should be included in any pre-existing situations contributed to the increases.
While an ever-evolving market could make it difficult to track health insurance inflation, it is likely to rise significantly from 9.5 percent in 2015.
With this in mind, it is increasingly important to ensure that your employees understand how to use their health insurance responsibly, to avoid increasing unnecessary costs.
How not to deal with rising costs
For many companies, the high cost of providing health insurance to employees may not be sustainable, leading some to reduce the level of coverage they provide. But this is probably a flawed economy.
Providing competitive advantages is an important factor in employee engagement. According to the MetLife insurance company, the enhanced benefits package will attract 53 percent of people in the UAE who are considering moving to another company to stay. Cutting a basic benefit like health insurance is likely to have the opposite effect. Discourage employees and encourage them to seek opportunities elsewhere.
There is also a risk that employee health will be affected as a result of reduced health care coverage, resulting in decreased productivity.
Another option is to increase the percentage that employees will have to pay for the treatment they receive, but this is a potential minefield. If you reside in Dubai, you can only ask employees to make co-payments to cover up to 20 percent of the cost for outpatient treatments, 30 percent for medications, and 10 percent for a maximum of Dh500 per visit and Dh1,000. dirhams per year. For hospital treatment. Most importantly, you could face legal action if you deduct a portion of your employees' mandatory health insurance premium from your wages.
Training status in health insurance
Therefore, educating your employees about the responsible use of their health insurance is a more positive, albeit less direct, way to address reducing health care costs. Your premium will be calculated for the next year taking into account the claims made by your employees for that year. So if you can encourage your employees to make judicious use of their coverage, this should help keep the price down. But what is the best way to do this?
If you are still not getting detailed details of health insurance claims made by your employees, I suggest that you ask your advisor to submit them on a quarterly basis, based on your policy size. They can also help you analyze data to discover patterns of behavior that could increase your premiums next year. This information will help you plan your personalized training, including a practical guide on how to best use the services available.
This can be done in the form of regular workshops for small groups of employees, perhaps from one team to another. In the smaller group, people are more likely to stay engaged and ask questions, increasing the chances that everyone will leave with full understanding. It would also make sense to include training on how to use company health insurance during the induction process for all new hires.
Some key points to include in health insurance training:
1. Understand the financial impact of their use of health insurance: Employees need to understand that increased use leads to higher health premium costs, which affects the company's bottom line and, ultimately, competitiveness. While the health of the company has an indirect effect on employees, it is also worth noting that there may also be a direct effect on co-payments made by employees.
Some providers currently operating in the UAE are investing in technology to improve claims handling, specifically to help them combat overuse and abuse. Educating employees about this should encourage them to use their coverage carefully and ask their doctors if a particular medical service or treatment is considered medically unspecified by insurance companies.
2. Ask about generic drugs: Ask your staff to ask about the generic version of the drugs they prescribe for you. According to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), generic drugs can be up to 85 percent cheaper and just as effective. This is reflected in the high rate of generic drug prescriptions in the United States, at least 80 percent, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
But the use of generic drugs is believed to be much lower in the UAE, as the pharmaceutical company Iva Pharma claimed that only 5 percent of the drugs used in some hospitals are generic. This topic was discussed at the 2016 MENA Health Insurance Conference. Experts concluded that comprehensive reform is needed to convince Emirati doctors to prescribe more generic drugs, which could generate savings estimated at 30 percent, equivalent to 2,300 million dirhams. Emirati annually.
Asking employees to clarify the point of ordering generic drugs can help fuel this trend, as well as keep costs down.
3. Don't use the emergency room as primary care - make sure the staff only knows how to go to the hospital for real emergency treatment.
This will not only result in emergency services being provided for the proper purpose, but a visit to a primary care clinic will be much cheaper than a trip to the emergency department.
4. Visit your GP first - In the United Arab Emirates, people can book an appointment directly with the specialist they assume is the most relevant. However, this could be a costly mistake if you turn out to be the wrong type of specialist.
Make sure your employees know that the first port of call should always be a GP. If the GP considers that a visit to a specialist is necessary, they can arrange a referral to a suitable specialist. In some cases, the fee for a specialist may not be necessary at all, and the fee for the GP will be much less than that for the specialist.
5. Use a virtual medical service if possible: For some health problems, a personal consultation may not be required at all. An increasing number of service providers in the UAE now offer virtual consultations with qualified physicians, either by phone or online via video.
Your insurance advisor can help you set up a reliable service, so that you can offer your employees the option of virtual advice, either from the office or from home.
6. Ask if tests are needed: In a survey conducted by the UAE Home Office, 999 magazine, nearly 28 percent of respondents said they believed doctors had sent them for diagnostic tests they didn't need , just to increase revenue.
Of course, we would all like to believe that doctors have our best interests in mind, but with that in mind, it might be helpful to advise staff to politely ask if all the tests doctors recommend are really necessary.
7. Take Advantage of Health Coaching - Along with sessions that specifically focus on the responsible use of health insurance, it makes sense to provide training aimed at helping your employees develop healthy lifestyles. This two-pronged approach is likely to have a greater impact on lowering your premiums.
If your analysis of past allegations reveals the prevalence of certain lifestyle-related health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, you may consider organizing specific health education sessions or other interactive programs.
There is much truth in the old saying: "Prevention is better than cure."
Therefore, offering health training would be a worthwhile investment. In the long term, it should help improve the well-being of your workforce, reduce sick days and improve productivity on the job, and ultimately reduce health insurance claims.
2. Ask about generic drugs: Ask your staff to ask about the generic version of the drugs they prescribe for you. According to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), generic drugs can be up to 85 percent cheaper and just as effective. This is reflected in the high rate of generic drug prescriptions in the United States, at least 80 percent, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
But the use of generic drugs is believed to be much lower in the UAE, as the pharmaceutical company Iva Pharma claimed that only 5 percent of the drugs used in some hospitals are generic. This topic was discussed at the 2016 MENA Health Insurance Conference. Experts concluded that comprehensive reform is needed to convince Emirati doctors to prescribe more generic drugs, which could generate savings estimated at 30 percent, equivalent to 2,300 million dirhams. Emirati annually.
Asking employees to clarify the point of ordering generic drugs can help fuel this trend, as well as keep costs down.
3. Don't use the emergency room as primary care - make sure the staff only knows how to go to the hospital for real emergency treatment.
This will not only result in emergency services being provided for the proper purpose, but a visit to a primary care clinic will be much cheaper than a trip to the emergency department.
4. Visit your GP first - In the United Arab Emirates, people can book an appointment directly with the specialist they assume is the most relevant. However, this could be a costly mistake if you turn out to be the wrong type of specialist.
Make sure your employees know that the first port of call should always be a GP. If the GP considers that a visit to a specialist is necessary, they can arrange a referral to a suitable specialist. In some cases, the fee for a specialist may not be necessary at all, and the fee for the GP will be much less than that for the specialist.
5. Use a virtual medical service if possible: For some health problems, a personal consultation may not be required at all. An increasing number of service providers in the UAE now offer virtual consultations with qualified physicians, either by phone or online via video.
Your insurance advisor can help you set up a reliable service, so that you can offer your employees the option of virtual advice, either from the office or from home.
6. Ask if tests are needed: In a survey conducted by the UAE Home Office, 999 magazine, nearly 28 percent of respondents said they believed doctors had sent them for diagnostic tests they didn't need , just to increase revenue.
Of course, we would all like to believe that doctors have our best interests in mind, but with that in mind, it might be helpful to advise staff to politely ask if all the tests doctors recommend are really necessary.
7. Take Advantage of Health Coaching - Along with sessions that specifically focus on the responsible use of health insurance, it makes sense to provide training aimed at helping your employees develop healthy lifestyles. This two-pronged approach is likely to have a greater impact on lowering your premiums.
If your analysis of past allegations reveals the prevalence of certain lifestyle-related health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease, you may consider organizing specific health education sessions or other interactive programs.
There is much truth in the old saying: "Prevention is better than cure."
Therefore, offering health training would be a worthwhile investment. In the long term, it should help improve the well-being of your workforce, reduce sick days and improve productivity on the job, and ultimately reduce health insurance claims.
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