Does insurance cover Ozempic or Mounjaro in the UAE?
What Dubai’s basic plan, Daman’s GLP‑1 rules and Abu Dhabi’s Thiqa programme say, and what to check in your own policy.
Written for the United Arab Emirates. Reading from India? India version
Usually not for weight loss. Dubai’s basic plan excludes weight-loss medicines, and Daman covers obesity GLP‑1s only for members in Abu Dhabi’s Thiqa obesity programme. Type 2 diabetes cover is more likely, but Daman asks for heart disease or heart risk factors, an HbA1c of 6.5% or more and 6 months of other medicines first.
Key takeaways
- Dubai’s basic Essential Benefits Plan excludes obesity treatment and “pharmacological weight reduction regimens”, in the table of benefits we read.1
- The same basic plan caps medicines at AED 2,500, including 30% co-insurance, so one Mounjaro pen at AED 1,734 uses most of it.1,2
- Daman pays for a diabetes GLP‑1 only with heart disease or several heart risk factors, an HbA1c of 6.5% or more and 6 months of other medicines.3
- Daman says obesity GLP‑1s “are not covered for members who are not enrolled in the Thiqa Obesity Program”.3
- Thiqa’s obesity programme covers adults who meet BMI rules and keep more than 5% weight loss plus an activity target.4
On this page
What does Dubai’s basic plan cover?
It does not cover weight-loss medicines. The Essential Benefits Plan (EBP), the Dubai Health Authority’s basic plan, lists obesity treatment and drug-based weight loss as exclusions.1
- GLP‑1 medicines are prescription-only in the UAE. Insurance rules decide who pays, not whether a doctor may prescribe.5
- We quote insurers’ published rules. Your own policy wording decides your cover, so read your table of benefits or ask your insurer.
- We don’t recommend insurers or plans, and we don’t name sellers.
- Every risk of these medicines is in Guide 5: Side effects and risks.
We read one insurer’s published EBP table of benefits. Two exclusions matter here:1
- Exclusion 8: “Surgical and non-surgical treatment for obesity (including morbid obesity), and any other weight control programs, services, or supplies.”
- Exclusion 9 ends with “pharmacological weight reduction regimens”, meaning weight loss with medicines.
Diabetes medicines on the basic plan. Medicines are covered “as per DHA formulary”, the authority’s list of approved medicines. The cap is AED 2,500, including 30% co-insurance, which is the share you pay at each prescription.1 Long-term conditions carry a 6-month waiting period from first enrolment unless you were insured before.1
Here is what that cap means in practice. A Mounjaro pen costs AED 1,734 at a fixed price.2 At 30% co-insurance you would pay about AED 520 a pen, and two pens together pass the AED 2,500 cap. So even when a diabetes GLP‑1 is on the formulary, the basic plan pays for only part of the second month.
When does Daman pay for a GLP-1 for diabetes?
Only when every one of its conditions is met. Daman is the national insurer that runs many Abu Dhabi plans, and its GLP‑1 guideline applies to “all health insurance plans administered by Daman”.3
Daman’s guideline, revised on 19 April 2026, says a GLP‑1 for type 2 diabetes may start only if all of these are true:3
- Type 2 diabetes with heart and blood-vessel disease (such as a past heart attack or stroke) or several heart risk factors.
- An HbA1c of 6.5% or more on a recent lab report. HbA1c is your average blood sugar over about 3 months.
- Blood sugar still not controlled after at least 6 months on metformin or other suitable diabetes medicines.
- No reason the medicine is unsafe for you, such as past pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), a family history of a rare thyroid cancer, type 1 diabetes or pregnancy.
The paperwork. Prior approval is needed; without it, claims are denied with code AUTH‑001.3 For Abu Dhabi providers the first request covers 1 month only, and Daman allows 1 box a month.3 The prescriber must be an internal medicine, endocrinology, family medicine or cardiology doctor.3
After a year. Daman reassesses at 12 months. Cover continues only with an HbA1c drop of at least 1 percentage point, or a documented improvement in related conditions.3
Daman’s table lists Ozempic, Rybelsus, Trulicity, Victoza and Mounjaro among diabetes GLP‑1s. It also covers Wegovy for a liver condition called MASH, with scarring confirmed by tests.3 Our type 2 diabetes path explains where these medicines fit.
Does Daman pay for weight loss?
Only for members of the Thiqa obesity programme. For everyone else, Daman’s guideline says obesity GLP‑1s are not covered.3
The guideline describes obesity treatment with tirzepatide, semaglutide or liraglutide at a BMI of 40 or more, or 30 or more with related conditions, after lifestyle changes have failed.3 It then adds that this is covered under Thiqa’s policy, for patients in the Thiqa obesity programme through selected providers.3
Thiqa is the Abu Dhabi government’s health programme for eligible UAE nationals.4 Its obesity programme has strict rules:4
- Who: adults 18 and over with a BMI of 30 or more and a listed condition, or a BMI of 40 or more.
- Prescriber: a doctor with obesity certification approved by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health, or a trained specialist.
- To keep cover: more than 5% weight loss, plus 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, 75 minutes of vigorous exercise or 10,000 steps a day on average, tracked through the Sahatna app.
Our Thiqa programme post walks through each step. Separately, Abu Dhabi’s health department said in April 2026 that Foundayo is covered for adults eligible for its Personalised Weight Management Programme.6
Pick a medicine and dose to see the yearly total in dirhams. No sign-up, nothing stored.
What about enhanced plans and the other emirates?
We found no published insurer rule that pays for weight-loss GLP‑1s outside Thiqa. Gulf News reported in 2026 that these medicines “remain largely out-of-pocket expenses”.7
The same report said cover is “typically restricted to diabetes or specific metabolic conditions”.7 Higher-tier company plans write their own benefits, so some may differ. We could not read any of them in full, because most are not public.
Sharjah and the Northern Emirates. We found no published GLP‑1 cover rules for plans there. Treat what you read about Dubai or Abu Dhabi as an example, not your rule.
New tablets. Daman’s April 2026 table lists Foundayo for obesity but not the Wegovy pill, which the UAE approved in June 2026.3,8 We found no insurer rule naming the Wegovy pill.
What should you check in your own policy?
Five lines in your table of benefits answer most of it: the exclusions, the medicine limit, co-insurance, the formulary and prior approval. The Dubai basic plan shows what each looks like.1
- Exclusions. Look for obesity, “weight control” or “weight reduction” in the excluded list.
- Medicine limit. A cap on medicines, such as AED 2,500, may be smaller than one or two months of a GLP‑1.
- Co-insurance. Your share of each prescription, such as 30%.
- Formulary. Daman says medicines missing from a formulary are not covered on plans that use one.3
- Prior approval and waiting periods. Ask whether your doctor must apply first, and whether a waiting period applies to long-term conditions.
If cover is refused, the reason code tells you why. Daman’s codes include missing prior approval and “not clinically indicated”.3 Guide 6 covers insurance alongside the prescription rules, and our price post lists what you pay without cover.
Questions people ask
Is Ozempic covered by insurance in the UAE?
Sometimes, for type 2 diabetes. Daman, for example, asks for heart disease or several heart risk factors, an HbA1c of 6.5% or more and 6 months of other medicines first.3 Ozempic is registered for diabetes, not weight loss.
Does Daman cover Mounjaro?
For type 2 diabetes, if all of Daman’s conditions are met and prior approval is given. For obesity, only for members enrolled in the Thiqa obesity programme.3
Is weight-loss medication excluded from Dubai’s basic plan?
Yes. The Essential Benefits Plan table we read excludes obesity treatment and “pharmacological weight reduction regimens”.1
Does Thiqa cover weight-loss injections?
Yes, inside its obesity programme, for adults who meet the BMI rules and keep more than 5% weight loss plus an activity target.4
Does insurance cover the Wegovy pill?
We found no insurer rule that names it. Daman’s April 2026 GLP‑1 table did not list it; the UAE approved it in June 2026.3,8
How we researched this
On 12 October 2026 we read Daman’s GLP‑1 adjudication guideline (version 5, revised 19 April 2026), Abu Dhabi’s Thiqa obesity reimbursement policy and one insurer’s published table of benefits for Dubai’s Essential Benefits Plan. We compared them with 2026 news reports.
We could not find the Dubai Health Authority’s own EBP document online, any published rules for the Northern Emirates, or the wording of higher-tier company plans. We left out insurer names other than Daman, whose rules are public and which runs Thiqa claims. Insurance rules change often, so we re-check them every 6 months.
Before you move on
- Dubai’s basic plan excludes weight-loss medicines.
- Daman covers diabetes GLP‑1s only when every condition is met, with prior approval.
- Outside Thiqa’s obesity programme, Daman does not cover obesity GLP‑1s.
- Read your own table of benefits: exclusions, cap, co-insurance, formulary and prior approval.
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An independent guide to GLP‑1 medicines. We don't sell medicines, take drug-company money or earn clinic commissions. Once a month: approvals, price changes, insurance rules and safety alerts in the UAE. How we write
Sources
- Cigna. Essential Benefits Plan (the Dubai Health Authority basic plan), table of benefits: "Drugs and other medicines * As per DHA formulary", "Maximum benefit AED 2,500 (including co-insurance) 30% co-insurance payable per prescription"; exclusion 8, "Surgical and non-surgical treatment for obesity (including morbid obesity), and any other weight control programs, services, or supplies"; exclusion 9, "... pharmacological weight reduction regimens"; pre-existing and chronic conditions: 6-month waiting period from first enrolment unless previously insured. Checked 12 October 2026. PDF
- Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Shafafiya drug list (Drugs.xlsx), release 26 September 2026, effective 2 October 2026: “Package Price to Public” in AED, and dispense mode “POM” (prescription-only medicine), for Mounjaro KwikPen 2.5 to 15 mg (AED 1,734 for each strength). Downloaded and checked against this page on 12 October 2026. The official list, not a seller. XLSX
- Daman (National Health Insurance Company). Adjudication guideline: Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) Receptor Agonist, ref. 2021-PH-09, version 5, effective 15 January 2023, revised 19 April 2026. Sections 2 (applies to "all health insurance plans administered by Daman"), 3.1.1 (type 2 diabetes initiation, duration and 12-month reassessment), 3.1.2 (obesity), 3.2 (eligible specialties), 3.3 (non-coverage), Table 1 (brands, uses, doses, 1 box a month) and section 4 (denial codes). PDF
- Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Thiqa reimbursement policy for obesity medications, DoH/Policy/TRP-OMM/HPS/V1/2025, published and effective 11 June 2025, sections 2.9–2.10, 3.1–3.7 and "Exclusions and Limitations" (revision every 3 months for the first 12 months, then yearly). PDF
- Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Circular 48/2026, 16 March 2026, relaying an Australian alert on fake GLP-1 products ("GLP-1 receptor agonists ... are prescription-only medicines and should only be used under medical supervision"; the products "are not registered with The Emirates Drug Establishment (EDE) but can be purchased online and through social media platforms"; report to the DoH Pharmacovigilance programme, [email protected]). Summarised, not reproduced. PDF
- Department of Health – Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi expands access to innovative daily oral obesity treatment (Foundayo added to the Personalised Weight Management Programme run with the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre; "covered for adults eligible for the Personalised Weight Management Programme"; first offered through one specialist centre). 24 April 2026. doh.gov.ae
- Gulf News. Anti-obesity drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro: are they getting cheaper? ("Lower-dose pens are typically priced around Dh740, while higher doses exceed Dh1,100"; "Mounjaro pens are priced higher, often above Dh1,700"; GLP-1 drugs "remain largely out-of-pocket expenses, with limited insurance coverage typically restricted to diabetes or specific metabolic conditions"). 7 February 2026. gulfnews.com
- Khaleej Times. UAE approves Wegovy pill for weight loss, cardiovascular risk reduction (approved by the Emirates Drug Establishment as "a once-daily oral treatment for long-term weight management in adults with obesity or overweight linked to weight-related medical conditions"; the second country to approve it). 1 June 2026. khaleejtimes.com
Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due 12 Apr 2027 · Report an error
How this post was made. Written by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above. It's general information, not medical advice. Talk to a qualified doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine. How we write