UAE doctors call on insurance companies to provide coverage for mental health issues

UAE doctors call on insurance companies to provide coverage for mental health issues

Non-coverage forces patients to see other specialists leading to higher costs for insurance companies.

Published: Sat 19 Feb 2022, 10:34 AM

Health experts in the UAE are calling for insurance companies to provide insurance coverage for mental health issues.

This comes as the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) recently highlighted features of an under-development app known as ‘Mindspire’ at the UAE Innovates event at the Dubai Expo 2020.

The app aims to help individuals suffering from depression or those who would like a preliminary screening of their state, and aids in alleviating their symptoms. The app focuses on anonymity and has minimal user intervention.

Dr Shaju George, psychiatrist at Medeor Hospital Dubai, opines, “Doctors and mental health professionals have a big role in persuading insurance companies to provide insurance coverage to people who have mental health issues, irrespective of the socio-economic strata they are coming from.

"Several efforts were made in the past by doctors to educate insurance companies that they are losing a whole lot of money by not providing coverage for mental health issues. Non-coverage for such illnesses forces these people to see other specialists where insurance companies bleed a lot on unnecessary consultations, investigations, and medicine.”

Unlike other medical specialities a lot of time is