Caritas Health placed under receivership

MANILA, Philippines — Health maintenance organization Caritas Health Shield Inc. (CHSI) may be liquidated over the next few months after the government placed it under receivership.

CHSI is not in any way related to non-government organization Caritas Manila Inc., the social arm of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.

In its latest notice, the Insurance Commission placed CHSI under receivership effective this month.

The IC said the HMO may still submit a proposal for rehabilitation within 90 days, otherwise, it would be placed under liquidation.

A notice of stay of order was also issued to allow the HMO to consolidate, preserve and protect its assets for the benefit of its members and creditors while undergoing receivership proceedings.

Nonetheless, all actions or proceedings for the enforcement of all claims against the company are suspended.

CHSI is prohibited from selling, encumbering, transferring or disposing of in any manner any of its properties, as well from making any payment of its liabilities.

The HMO is also barred from collecting premiums from members and renewing existing plans.

In separate notices, CHSI’s subsidiaries Caritas Financial Plans Inc. and Caritas Life Insurance Corp. were also placed in conservatorship to keep them afloat. Both companies have been ordered to stop doing business.

Established in 1995, CHSI has 69 branch offices and an accredited nationwide network of over 15,000 doctors of medicine in varied fields of specialization. It also has five clinics it calls Clinica Caritas.

CHSI said it has served over 800,000 members since its creation nearly three decades ago.