Under the unified system, patients could seek treatment at the nearest suitable hospital or specialised centre regardless of emirate
Emirati patients may soon be able to access hospitals and specialised treatment across the UAE more easily under the country’s newly approved national healthcare and health insurance system, experts told media.
Healthcare leaders said that the move could remove long-standing barriers that often limited patients to hospitals within their own emirate due to insurance restrictions, especially in cases involving cancer treatment, cardiac care, and complex surgeries.
Earlier this week, the UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan approved a unified national healthcare and health insurance system for Emirati citizens across all emirates, aimed at creating a more integrated healthcare framework nationwide.
No barriers between emirates
Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, Chairman and CEO of Burjeel Holdings, said the initiative could “remove geographical barriers between emirate-level healthcare systems and improve access to specialised hospitals and advanced treatment across the UAE.”
For many residents in the northern emirates, the change could have a direct impact on how and where they seek treatment.
Dr Ashendu Kumar Pandey, Group CEO of Arabian Healthcare Group and CEO of RAK Hospital, said some Emirati families in Ras Al Khaimah previously had to travel to Abu Dhabi for treatment because their insurance coverage was linked to a specific emirate’s network.
“Families had to manage a sick family member while also dealing with long-distance travel, accommodation, and time away from work, all because of an administrative boundary rather than a clinical one,” he said.
He added that under a unified system, patients could seek treatment at the nearest suitable hospital or specialised centre regardless of emirate.
Dr Pandey also highlighted the impact the system could have on patients requiring advanced treatment.
He said cancer patients and people requiring cardiac procedures or complex surgeries sometimes faced difficulties accessing specialised centres outside their emirate due to insurance approvals or coverage limitations.
“If the best oncology centre, cardiac surgical team, or robotic surgery unit happened to be in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, patients from the northern emirates faced real barriers,” he said.
“Now, the clinical decision belongs to the doctor and the patient, not the insurance boundary.”
More choices
According to Dr Pandey, another major shift could be increased access to private hospitals for Emiratis in the northern emirates, who were previously more dependent on government healthcare facilities.
“Now they have that choice. A citizen should be able to decide whether they prefer a government hospital or a private hospital based on the care and facilities on offer, not based on what their insurance allows.”
He also pointed to the importance of integrated electronic medical records, saying doctors across the UAE would be able to access a patient’s medical history more easily, improving continuity of care and helping in complex cases.
Dr Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman of Aster DM Healthcare, said: “The unified framework could improve accessibility and continuity of care for patients nationwide.”
Healthcare experts also said the new system could strengthen preventive healthcare by encouraging regular screenings, long-term monitoring, and earlier intervention for chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
