Eeyore

Not necessarily - some people might not realise that, say, Welcare hospitals/clinics are part of EHL.

Apparently some already-expensive procedures will be hiked by as much as 60%... but then, this is Dubai gossip, so possibly greatly exaggerated.

NorthernLad

We use Cigna insurance, and I've always used Welcare (which seems to be EHL?).

Isn't this owned by Varkeys?

Eeyore

Varkeys sold out to Mediclinic last year.

mikewot

Got an email today:
Dear Patient

Tariff 2013: Statement from Mediclinic Middle East

On behalf of Mediclinic Middle East, operators of Mediclinic City Hospital, Mediclinic Welcare Hospital, Mediclinic Dubai Mall, Mediclinic Meadows, Mediclinic Arabian Ranches, Mediclinic Al Sufouh, Mediclinic Beach Road, Mediclinic Mirdif, Mediclinic Al Qusais and Mediclinic Ibn Battuta, I would like to address some misunderstandings currently circulating regarding your insurance coverage in our facilities.

You may have recently received communication from your insurance company or third party administrator which we believe could be misleading. In the interest of transparency, we feel that it is important that you receive a balanced view of a developing situation between ourselves, Mediclinic Middle East, and some medical insurers here in Dubai.

Mediclinic Middle East is one of the largest private healthcare groups in the UAE and operates as the Middle Eastern arm of Mediclinic International. Mediclinic International currently rates among the top six listed private hospital groups in the world in terms of market capitalisation and is one of the very few private healthcare organisations to achieve successful expansion on a global scale.

Mediclinic International has been operating since 1934 through its Swiss arm, Hirslanden, and brought this market knowledge and experience to the UAE in 2006. Our intentions from the outset have been to support the rulers of this country in their efforts to develop sustainable quality world-class healthcare. As such, we approach the pricing of our business with a long-term focus. In order to deliver on our commitments, we follow the international standard on tariff structure which includes an annual review.

With this in mind, in July last year we informed your healthcare insurer or administrator that, in our efforts to continue to provide quality healthcare to our patients, a tariff increase for our services would be implemented on 1 January 2013. This is the same process we have followed in previous years.

It is important to note that certain economic and operational realities were taken into consideration when we proposed our 2013 tariff structure. The major cost drivers of healthcare within any society are the cost of living and the subsequent cost of manpower. The recruitment and retention of our clinical staff is of utmost importance to our business. Our patients trust our doctors, and our means of retaining them is by offering compensation that is fair and on a par with international market rates. Healthcare is one of the industries experiencing the greatest expansion of headcount in the Gulf region, and a recent industry survey showed that salaries in the healthcare sector rose the highest, by an average of 6.4% last year. We anticipate a similar increase in 2013.

Dubai’s population expects the very best service in all areas, and healthcare is no exception to this. After studying the realities of the market and taking all factors into account including salaries, rising operational costs such as rent, DEWA, licensing fees etc., as well as our continuous investments in new technologies and infrastructure, we proposed to increase our tariff by approximately 5-6% in 2013. We believe that an increase of this amount is both realistic and affordable, and is well within the 10-20% increase in medical insurance premiums that some may have encountered.

Unfortunately, some insurance companies/administrators were reluctant to accept any tariff increases for 2013. However, in order to help reach an agreement with these insurance providers and to maintain continuity of care for our patients, Mediclinic Middle East decided to retain the 2012 tariff structure for 2013, but instead to amend the discounts available to insurers in order to achieve the 5-6% increase. This, however, has also not been accepted by some insurers as of today. In order to achieve an amicable solution, we have kept all agreements the same until 31 January 2013 while discussions continue. Until this date there will be no change to any insurance coverage or direct billing arrangements, where applicable.

As a patient, you have the right to choose your doctor/healthcare provider. From 1 February 2013, should an agreement not be reached between Mediclinic Middle East and your insurer, you may have to settle your account directly with us and then claim reimbursement from your healthcare insurer. We will make every effort to accommodate you by arranging alternative payment means on an individual basis.

We will keep you informed of these issues at hand and we trust that a suitable resolution will be reached.

For any further questions regarding this issue please contact our Funder Relations Department:

Eeyore

Yes, I got that email. I had to laugh at this bit:

"From 1 February 2013, should an agreement not be reached between Mediclinic Middle East and your insurer, you may have to settle your account directly with us and then claim reimbursement from your healthcare insurer"

Yes, because the purely procedural matter of direct billing is the issue here, and not the actual cost of the treatment, right?

If this ends up without agreement between Mediclinic and the insurers, it doesn't take much insight to foresee something of a patient exodus. I can imagine that the number of people willing (or indeed able) to weigh out Mediclinic-sized bills and then wait for reimbursement at their insurer's leisure is going to be considerably smaller than the number who will switch to a provider offering direct billing.

It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out. It's possible that Mediclinic has misjudged its market fairly badly.

mikewot

Yup, I pay 50 dits per visit but it's over 1000 for my regular medication every 2 months and I have no idea how much for the Dr visit. I use Mediclinic because it's a 5 minute drive but I can put up with a longer drive.

Eeyore

I'd have to pay a similar amount for medication every 3 months, and each consultation with the doctor appears on the invoice at about 550 dhs. Throw in blood tests etc (don't they just *love* doing blood tests here?) and you're looking at the wrong end of 1000 dhs for a fairly routine visit to the doc.

With our other financial commitments, we'll have to find somewhere else if we lose direct billing or the cost of our co-pay at Mediclinic facilities goes up much more. Daman introduced the extra 20% for using EHL a couple of years ago.

The Dean

In other news, International Modern Hospital refused to accept NGI HealthNet yesterday..............

Meow

Interesting. A tariff increase of 5-6% doesn't sound unreasonable when medical insurance inflations runs at around 10% per annum.

Eeyore

That hospital name has always made me laugh - as if it's called that to distinguish itself from the nearby Local Old-Fashioned Hospital.

As I understand it, EHL's prices were already significantly higher than average for Dubai and have been for some years. And I'm told that under the new tariff, some procedures will be jacked up by as much as 60% (but no idea how accurate that is).

Meow

The medical insurance companies are fully aware of the cost of all kinds of treatments at hospitals across the country and whilst they have usually paid out for the higher ones, some are starting to question the costs. I know of a case where a particular surgeon charges some 20% than others for certain procedures (as he's apparently the best), but although the insurers will approve, they will only cover costs up to what others are charging.

If there really are increases of 60% that is ludicrous. I have heard mention of that, but no verification from any source.

It's not surprising insurers will refuse to deal with overpriced clinics and hospitals and if they did, the premiums would have to increase even more.

Millhouse

Interestingly, compared to the US health care in UAE isn't so expensive and the reason being is this exact behavior from the insurers. Daman have done an excellent job in controlling costs (in AD in particular where Daman are by far the largest insurer).

Still, the battle between insurer and provider will always have to become a war at some-point.

mikewot

Our company deal with Rylandgrey and they've just renewed with AXA for the end of this month. Rylandgrey have just told me that there will be no problem with AXA and Mediclinic.

jam25mack

Alico are a nightmare to get refunds for. especially for Osteao / Physio work. Last time I had a string of about 50 emails and it took 9 months to get my cash back. I probably wasted more money in my time than what I was claiming for.