Insurance Updates

What changed, and when it binds you.

A standing record of what the regulators and the major payers publish. Every entry says the same four things: what was issued, the date it takes effect, who it applies to, and what it changes about the way you code, bill or document.

Dates to meet

What is coming, in the order it lands.

30 Nov 2026
Sahatna
Full compliance with Sahatna integration, for every facility in Abu Dhabi. Circular 170 of 2026.
Nov 2026
Two new standards
Corneal transplant services and SUD treatment both take effect.
4 Sep 2027
Malaffi · TCAM
Grace period ends. Licences will not be renewed for centres still unconnected.
This is a repository, not a newsletter. Entries stay up and stay dated, so when a claim from March gets queried you can check what the rule was in March. Each carries the issuing reference so you can go to the source document yourself.
The record

Newest first.

Backdated
PND/SA/AC/26/UAE-46
Daman · Payer circular

IFHAS service code 52-62 discontinued

Issued 15 September 2026 · effective 1 September 2026
Backdated by two weeks — the quietest denial generator there is

SRVC code 52-62 — the ACMG report for male and female aged 18 to 75 — comes off the Mandatory Tariff List. This updates Circular PND/SA/AC/26/UAE-41. Note the dates: the code stopped being payable on 1 September and the notice is dated 15 September, so anything billed or authorised in between is exposed. Pull those claims before the rejections arrive rather than after.

Affects: coding, charge master, authorisations, AR
Genesis summary card: IFHAS service code 52-62 discontinued Open card
12 months
Circular 171 / 2026
DoH Abu Dhabi

Mandatory Malaffi onboarding for TCAM centres

Issued 4 September 2026 · grace period ends 4 September 2027
Licences will not be renewed for centres still non-compliant

Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine centres not yet connected must integrate with Malaffi and submit all required patient data within the grace period. Complete the technical integration, submit the records, and clear any operational blocker before the window closes.

Affects: TCAM licensing, data submission, patient records
Genesis summary card: Mandatory Malaffi onboarding for TCAM centres Open card
Deadline Nov
Circular 170 / 2026
DoH Abu Dhabi

Sahatna integration is mandatory

Issued 1 September 2026 · compliance deadline 30 November 2026
30 November 2026 — miss it and the facility is non-compliant with DoH requirements

Sahatna is Abu Dhabi’s patient-facing digital health platform — one route to appointments, teleconsultations, records and prescriptions. This reaffirms the mandatory link first set out in Circular 153 of 2023. Facilities must complete onboarding, testing and go-live, enable in-person and teleconsultation booking where those services are offered, activate Primary Care Digital Registration where applicable, and nominate a technical and a business focal point.

Affects: appointments, teleconsultation, patient access, registration
Genesis summary card: Sahatna integration is mandatory Open card
In force
Circular 168 / 2026
ADPHC · DoH Abu Dhabi

Influenza season 2026 to 2027

Issued 27 August 2026 · effective from its issuance date
Qualified facilities must provide vaccination free of charge to every eligible beneficiary

ADPHC supplies the Northern Hemisphere trivalent vaccine: IIV3 from six months of age, high-dose IIV3-HD from 65 years, and the LAIV3 nasal spray for healthy individuals aged 2 to 49 with priority to children aged 2 to 17. Where IIV3-HD or LAIV3 is unavailable, do not delay — administer IIV3. Record every dose in the Immunization Information System, report adverse events through AEFI, and notify suspected and confirmed cases through Tableegh.

Affects: eligibility, coding, immunisation reporting, insurer obligations
Genesis summary card: Influenza season 2026 to 2027 Open card
In force
Circular 167 / 2026
DoH Abu Dhabi

Regulation of birth affairs

Issued 27 August 2026 · effective from its issuance date
30 days to notify a birth that occurred outside the facility

Issued under Federal Decree-Law 10 of 2022 and read with Circular 25 of 2023. Sets how facilities handle births occurring outside the facility, including home births and police referrals, and cases where parental identification is missing. The identity of the notifier must be confirmed before a notification is issued, and births inside the facility continue to be notified within 72 hours.

Affects: birth notification, records, patient identity
Genesis summary card: Regulation of birth affairs Open card
Effective Nov
DOH/ST/HQS/CT/V1/26
DoH Abu Dhabi · Standard

Standard for the provision of corneal transplant services

Published August 2026 · effective November 2026 · V1, new
Effective November 2026 · JAWDA survival indicators at one year, graft-threatening complications counted to 56 days

Minimum service, facility, workforce, governance and quality requirements for keratoplasty in the Emirate. Unusually, it names DoH-authorised health payers in its own scope, not only providers. Three things make a graft claim defensible: the procedure inside the facility’s approved scope of service, a privileged corneal surgeon, and tissue from a DoH-accepted eye bank.

Affects: coding, documentation, JAWDA reporting, adjudication
Genesis summary card: Standard for the provision of corneal transplant services Open card
Effective Nov
DOH/ST/HQS/SUD(TR/V1/26
DoH Abu Dhabi · Standard

Standard for substance use disorder treatment and rehabilitation

Published August 2026 · effective November 2026 · V1, supersedes the 2024 standard
Effective November 2026 · Level 2 day-care requirements wait on formal DoH licensing of day-care facilities

Four levels of care with defined thresholds and trigger scores, named screening tools, ICD-11 as the diagnostic framework, and a documentation list that applies at every level. Binds every DoH-licensed facility delivering any component of SUD care.

Affects: coding, documentation, JAWDA reporting, prescribing
Genesis summary card: Standard for substance use disorder treatment and rehabilitation Open card
In force
Federal mandate
MOHAP · Northern Emirates

Private-sector insurance mandate, Northern Emirates

In force from 1 January 2025

Mandatory health insurance for private-sector employees and their dependants across the Emirates outside Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Brings a fourth population of insured patients into a claims environment that had largely been cash, and with it a set of employers meeting adjudication for the first time.

Affects: eligibility, payer mix, staffing
Genesis summary card: Private-sector insurance mandate, Northern Emirates Open card
Standing
JAWDA Data Certification
DoH Abu Dhabi · Standing

The audit formerly called Clinical Coding Certification

Standing requirement

DoH appointed TASNEEF–RINA Business Assurance as the independent certification body. The programme examines JAWDA quality KPI data, claims, and the clinical coding process behind both — the rename was to make clear it reaches past the coding desk.

Affects: coding, clinical documentation, KPI reportingHow Genesis prepares you for it
Genesis summary card: The audit formerly called Clinical Coding Certification Open card
Every update is a card, and every card is yours to share. Same shape, same format, built for WhatsApp — open one, download it, send it to a team or put it on a noticeboard. They are unofficial Genesis summaries for training, not a representation of DoH material; always work from the original document.
One country, three rulebooks

Why a single record is worth keeping

Abu Dhabi
DoH
Mandatory cover since
2006
Watch
Standards, JAWDA, tariff and coding schedules
Dubai
DHA
Mandatory cover since
2014, under Law 11 of 2013
Watch
eClaimLink circulars, DRG rules, formulary
Northern Emirates
MOHAP
Mandatory cover since
1 January 2025
Watch
A market building its claims rules in public