Qatar offers free health care – but red tape can cause stress
Emergency medical aid is free in the world's richest country, but expats are recommended to purchase private cover
The front of the new Sidra Medical Center, under construction in Qatar Photo: Sidra Medical and Research Centre
10:44AM BST 15 Jul 2014
Qatar is a magnet for expats – around 500 new foreign workers arrive at the airport in Doha on a daily basis.
Luckily for them, health provision is good. The Sidra Medical and Research Center, the first of its kind in the Middle East, is due to open next year. It is designed to offer state-of-the art research facilities as well as education and health care for women and children locally and across the Gulf.
The project has been endowed with £4.6bn by the Qatar Foundation, which was set up in 1995 to modernise the emirate and improve education for all. The centre will employ more than 5,000 people, including 2,000 nurses, 600 doctors and 800 other health care professionals plus managers and support staff.
While Sidra is still under construction, Qatar is already well equipped to meet the health needs of its two million people – locals and expats. Unlike neighbouring Saudi Arabia, Qatar has not made medical insurance mandatory for expats. It plans to do so before the end of next year but in the meantime, the only requirement for visitors, residents and Qataris is a health card. These can be bought at ports of entry for QR100 (around £17) and renewed online.
With a card, immediate and initial medical care is generally free for all, whatever one's nationality. Some expats report that this holds good even if they don't have a health card handy. Free care is not guaranteed on a second appointment under these circumstances.
Aetna, a major US health care company (aetna.com) advises: "The health card entitles you to free treatment at public hospitals and subsidised prices on prescription medicines. However, accessing these services can be a difficult task, filled with bureaucracy and confusion. To avoid these complications, expatriates in Qatar are strongly encouraged to take out private health insurance."
You would hardly expect Aetna, also an insurer, to say different. But its recommendation to buy cover fits with other advice. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says of Qatar: "Emergency medical treatment is excellent but can be expensive. Routine treatment is available but expensive for visitors.
"Make sure you have adequate travel health insurance and accessible funds to cover the cost of any medical treatment abroad and repatriation.
"If you need emergency medical assistance during your trip, dial 999 and ask for an ambulance. You should contact your insurance /medical assistance company promptly if you are referred to a medical facility for treatment."
Buying cover could be likened to dining at the Ritz. The experience is more enjoyable if someone else pays – in this case your employer. Every effort should be made by workers to get good medical insurance written into their employment contract.
When this is not possible, premiums can be held at affordable levels by opting for an excess (or deductible), which works on the same basis as in motor insurance. Raymond Leprêtre, director of Expat Assure (expatassure.com), an independent broker based in the City of London, made this point in recommending four insurance companies.
Using an example, a 42-year-old man moving to Qatar would pay an annual premium of £1,661 for comprehensive cover with InterGlobal's Select plan (interglobalpmi.com).
He would save more than £300 if he opted for an excess of £100 per medical condition per year, resulting in an annual premium of £1,359. The decision to opt for the excess would only be negated if he were to make £100-plus claims relating to three separate medical conditions over 12 months. Another plan for the same individual is Now Health Advance. The premium is £2,299, dropping to £1,503 for an excess of £155 per medical condition per year.
It is possible to dispense with the "per medical condition" clause by a straightforward excess in order to be covered, after paying the excess, irrespective of the variety of claims. Here, William Russell's Elite Silver plan (william-russell.com) charges £2,205 without excess (£1,608 with a £150 excess). Another UK-based provider, ALC (alchealth.com), charges £2,634 without excess (£2,328 with a £150 excess).
All the plans cover rescue and repatriation, specialist fees, a private hospital room, tests and other features. Mr Leprêtre said it is important to look for chronic, or recurrent, disease cover.
"All four plans of course cover the onset of a chronic condition and acute exacerbations, but long-term maintenance can be expensive, with treatment lasting many years, sometimes for life," he said. In that context, the plans from William Russell offered the best long-term protection for the 42-year-old man used as an example, as there is no upper limit within the overall ceiling of £1,250,000 a year for all claims. The other three plans do have an upper limit.
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