Healthcare Woes in the Land of Plenty

HEALTHCARE WOES IN THE LAND OF PLENTY

In the past few decades, what was once a barren desert has NOW turned out into a land of plenty. We

are talking about the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a Middle Eastern country comprising of seven

prominent provinces. Its vast oil reserves, which rank as the seventh largest in the world are responsible

for much of its recently acquired prosperity. UAE is the home for scores of expatriates from around the

globe, who in search of green pastures have landed in this golden desert to amass their share of wealth.

But there is a flip side to every success story. Besides the burgeoning issues related to labour

exploitation and occasional religious autocracy, the UAE is well known for its sky-rocketing cost of living.

Besides spending an astronomical amount on living and daily expenses, what is proving to be a teething

issue bothering the dwellers of UAE, especially in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is the increasing healthcare

costs.

In the whole of Middle East, the healthcare costs are the highest in the UAE. They are considerably

higher as compared to the healthcare costs in Europe and Africa. The costs are higher mainly due to the

high expat population in the region. This means that if you are visiting a General Practitioner in an

international recognized hospital, the costs of the consultation will be significantly higher as compared

to other countries. In the past few years, citizens of the UAE have been facing the hike in healthcare

costs and it is expected to rise even more. At present, every person in the UAE roughly spends about

$1,200 on medical costs. Despite the fact that a lot of companies are offering healthcare benefits to

their employees, they still face the pinch of the excess costs which they have to shell out from their own

pockets. Then, there is the case of the labour class who suffer due to lack of healthcare coverage. In this

land of plenty where there is plenty of wealth to earn, paradoxically, there are also plenty of...