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Young benefit more from health spending in Dubai

DHA releases its first National Health Accounts Report

Essa Al Maidoor and Prof Tawfik Khoja release the first National Health Accounts Report of the Dubai Health Authority as Dr Haidar Saeed Al Yousuf looks on. — Supplied photo

A considerably young population benefited from Dh10 billion spent on healthcare in the emirate in 2012, according to a report released by the Dubai Health Authority on Monday.

People aged between 20 and 39 years (44 per cent) were the main beneficiaries of the funds as per the details of the National Health Accounts report for the health expenditure for Dubai.

Essa Al Maidoor, Director-General of the DHA, announced the details of the first report of the health expenditure for Dubai.

Parts of the report released during the Arab Health Conference earlier this year showed that women spent more than men on healthcare needs in 2012 considering the proportion of the female population (25 per cent) versus men (75 per cent).

Of the Dh10 billion that was spent on healthcare, a meagre six per cent was spent on seeking preventive treatment compared to 74 per cent that went towards curative care. Data also showed that spending in hospitals was 48 per cent, and considered to be on the higher side.

“This report will be published annually,” said Al Maidoor.

Professor Tawfik Khoja, General Director of the Executive Board of Health Ministers’ Council for the GCC, who attended the presentation, said, “The release of this report should be effectively utilised by the private and government sectors in Dubai, the UAE, and the Gulf states.”

He also invited the DHA to share methodologies used in producing the report with the other GCC states.

Dr Haidar Saeed Al Yousuf, Director of the Health Funding Department, said the DHA would publish such results periodically, to support the development of healthcare in Dubai.

He concluded by making a link between the importance of the findings of the report and the new era of health financing in Dubai through the mandatory health Insurance scheme. “The report measures the dimension of health spending before the scheme as a baseline. These indicators will be used to monitor changes over time as each wave of beneficiaries join the health insurance mandate until the roll-out of the universal coverage is completed in 2016,” he said.

“Then DHA will compare the situation post the implementation against the desired results, and will take the necessary measures in case of any deviation from these planned stages,” said Al Yousuf.

Of the Dh10 billion spent on health, 32 per cent was funded by the government, 45 per cent by the private sector and 22 per cent by families and individuals. “However, with the implementation of the mandatory health insurance, we expect these percentages will change, as the employee share in the contribution of health funding will increase,” he added.

In terms of the healthcare providers, 48 per cent of the services were provided by hospitals, 22 per cent by clinics and dispensaries, 12 per cent by pharmacies and diagnostic services and 15 per cent were services provided outside the emirate.

Seventy-four per cent was spent on curative care, 20 per cent on medicines and medical equipment and six per cent on preventive services.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com