Dubai's Rashid Hospital has started accepting health insurance cards from expatriates with the enforcement of a new law requiring health insurance cover for all Dubai residents, a report said.

The insurance cards are accepted at the government hospital’s emergency section, as part of the first phase of the roll-out of the health insurance scheme, the Gulf News said quopting  a senior official of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).

The cards will be accepted at all all DHA facilities over the enxt six months.

Expatriates will soon be free to choose where they wish to be treated, either at a government hospital or a private clinic.