Daman's regional conference attempts to further the health insurance industry across the Arab world

With hundreds of participants attending the first day of the conference to discuss the challenges and the latest developments facing the health industry in the region, the conference is already a success.

Inaugurating the forum, H.E. Dr. Ahmad Al Mazrouie, Chairman of HA-AD, accompanied by Mr. Zaid Al Siksik preformed a tour and thanked all the participating exhibitors.

Representing the Health Authority - Abu Dhabi, Dr Finn Goldner, Head of Health System Financing, held a lecture about the challenges facing the implementation of the compulsory health insurance law.

He said that since the implementation of the law, the health insurance industry has seen many changes with more than 27 insurers licensed in the market.

He said that the Health Authority in coordination with the Daman is working on implementing the elctronic claims standards in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. He stressed that the Health Authoirty is overseeing that the standard is being fully implemented accordingly.

Dr. Omar Al Zayan, from King Abdul Aziz University, spoke about privatisation in the healthcare system and said that privatisation is supported by governments mainly as an instrument for improving the performance of the public sector and provide patients with the choice of healthcare providers leading to the competition that is necessary within the health market.

Mr. Zaid Al Siksik, CEO of the Health Authority - Abu Dhabi, spoke about the fast and tremendous growth that the health sector in Abu Dhabi has witnessed witnessing over the past few years and about the need for high quality services in the Emirate.

He said that the government is working on rebuilding and expanding various hospitals based on the demand assessments to meet the needs of the rapidly growing population in the Emirate. He mentioned that the Health Authority is working on upgrading professional health education systems and to increase the number of nationals with international qualifications working at all levels on the system.

In the afternoon session, Dr. Franz Benstetter from Munich-re company in Germany spoke on the allocation of Financial Risk in the Healthcare system. He stated that healthcare expenditures are on a rise worldwide. He stressed on the importance of taking individual risks into consideration while providing health insurance.

More than 600 participants representing the region's provides leading insurance companies attended the first day of the Conference with the greater aim to enhance the growth and development of the industry.

A representative from one of the healthcare providers said that the conference provides an ideal platform to share and exchange respective knowledge and expertise of the industry with industry members across the Arab world.

Commenting on the first day of the event, Dr. Axel Tettenborn, COO of Daman, said: 'I am looking forward to seeing recommendations from the conference to further develop the healthcare and health insurance industry in the region. I hope that this conference provides an ongoing opportunity for dialogue amongst members of the health insurance industry.'