THE INSURANCE COMMISSION (IC) has placed health maintenance organization (HMO) CareHealth Plus Systems International, Inc. (CareHealth Plus) under liquidation effective Aug. 5.
This comes over a year after the company was told to cease and desist from doing new business due to its inability to address policyholder complaints amid liquidity issues.
“Please be advised that the notice of stay order dated June 21, 2024 shall remain effective until the termination of the liquidation proceedings of CareHealth, or until further notice,” the IC said in a notice dated Aug. 6.
It added that parties who have claims against the company must file their claims until Feb. 19, 2026.
The IC first issued a cease-and-desist order to CareHealth Plus on Oct. 10, 2023, preventing the HMO from selling new policies. However, it was allowed to continue servicing the claims of existing policyholders.
The regulator in a resolution dated April 3, 2024 denied CareHealth Plus’ motion to lift the cease-and-desist order.
The regulator also denied the HMO’s application for a license renewal, which was previously put on hold due to the complaints filed against CareHealth Plus.
On April 5, 2024, the company was placed under conservatorship due to numerous complaints that the HMO was unable to provide the benefits stipulated in its products.
It was then put under receivership on June 27, 2024 due to its inability to pay its obligations.
CareHealth Plus is based in Manila with several branches in the country.
The IC said it found a total of 66 pending complaints against CareHealth Plus, with some involving corporate accounts and government agencies.
CareHealth Plus booked a net profit of P1.23 million as of September 2023, latest available data from the IC showed. Its assets stood at P1.47 billion in the period, while liabilities totaled P1.4 billion.
The HMO industry saw its net income surge to P579.39 million in the first quarter from P6.78 million in the same period last year, according to IC data.
The increase was attributed to the 26.15% increase in membership fee collections in the period, which accounted for 97.52% of the total revenues of the industry, according to data based on the unaudited financial statements submitted by 28 HMOs, up from the 24 submissions in the same period in 2024. — A.M.C. Sy