Benefits are available through Focus – a health plan jointly offered by both companies and launched in 2020, which includes coverage for mental health, emergency treatment outside the area of cover and organ transplant. The plan is available to organisations employing less than 100 people and offers four levels of cover: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze – each with a host of benefits, including full payment for cancer care and free access to Aetna International’s virtual-healthcare service, vHealth.

A press release published on behalf of the two providers explains that the latest round of enhancements offered through Focus are part of Al Ain Ahlia Insurance Company and Aetna International’s wider commitments to addressing the growing physical and mental health challenges associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Responding to the needs of individuals throughout the global pandemic

Mohamed Mazhar Hamadeh, General Manager at Al Ain Ahlia, said that the firm was delighted with the uptake and renewal rates seen on the Focus plan, adding that the Focus plans address the variable health and wellness needs of the SME market, which are different to those of larger enterprises.

“Covid-19 has served to highlight many of the gaps in healthcare that exist around the world,” added David Healy, CEO EMEA at Aetna International. “Flexibility in coverage is the one thing insurance companies can do to support the paradigm shifts created by the pandemic. Such provisions must, of course, cover the coronavirus itself — testing, treatment, and vaccination — but they must also take account of the knock-on effects of this unprecedented public-health crisis. The mental and physical health of remote and field employees must be preserved. Our Focus health solution is based on an empirical study — we listened to the market, and we responded.”

In late 2020, UAE patients were given access to an international telemedicine service introduced by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP).