ABU DHABI — Dr Mohamed Mahmoud Al Kamaly, Director-General of the UAE Judicial Institute, has said that the introduction of compulsory health insurance for the visitors to the UAE reflects the country's obligation to respect human rights.
He told Khaleej
Times yesterday that UAE government was keen on providing the necessary health
care for the visitors as a commitment of the UAE leadership to the welfare of
the visitors and residents.
Meanwhile,
Engineer Ezz Al Jawahry, owner of one of the construction companies, said that
health insurance is a valuable gift from the UAE to its visitors.
He said that
the insurance premium, which ranged between Dh40 and Dh90 paid by the sponsors,
was not much for the medical care which might be provided to the visitor in case
of any health problems.
He added he had
a bad experience as he had faced problems for arranging medical care for some
engineers who had come here on a visit. He said his company had to spend lot of
money on their treatment.
He said he was
sure that now this problem was going to be solved for ever after the
introduction of the health insurance for the visitors.
Mohammed El
Sayed, director of a training institute in Abu Dhabi, also said that he had to
bear the burden of medical treatment of teachers who were invited to the
institute as visiting lecturers.
Essam Abdullah,
who is working as an accountant, said that he brought his mother for four months
on a visit visa to stay with him. Unfortunately, during her stay here, she fell
sick and he had to pay about Dh 11,000 on her medical treatment.
Saeed Saleh
Hamdani of an American insurance company in Abu Dhabi, said the UAE government
contributes the lion's share towards health insurance of visitors. The high cost
of health insurance could not be covered by private health insurance companies.
He said that
his company is unable cover health insurance for visitors for one or two months
for a fee of Dh40 or Dh60 which is very low.