Gulf healthcare costs expected to soar, report shows – The National

Gulf healthcare costs expected to soar, report shows – The National

Diabetes, lifestyle diseases and overprescribing of low-value health tests is driving costs up. The cost of providing medical treatment in the Middle East and North Africa soared by 13.6 per cent last year with analysts expecting a further rise to 14 per cent this year.. Because treatment is expensive, screening and prevention are key to tackling this epidemic and reducing costs. "Although there are clear challenges facing us, the region is making significant investment into tackling some of the issues raised in this report," said Julio Garcia, Mercer Marsh Benefits leader for Middle East and Africa.. " the diseases are not unique to the Gulf," said Simon Penney, Middle East trade commissioner for the UK Government.. "The National Health Service has invested heavily in technology and increased its focus on disease screening and prevention.. An overprescribing of low-value health tests and procedures, high cost pharmaceuticals and patients spending longer than necessary in hospital for treatment were cited in the financial report.. Despite increasing costs, analysts said changes to the way people access care, such as via virtual health consultancies and telemedicine, are being adopted across the region.. The Mercer Marsh Benefits report surveyed 204 international insurers from January to March