Lawmaker wants Insurance Commission under BSP, more teeth for Insurance Code

A lawmaker has filed a measure seeking to place the Insurance Commission (IC) under the supervision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and permanently including health maintenance organizations (HMOs) under the coverage of the Insurance Code.

Under Senate Bill 2133, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go proposed changes to the Insurance Code of 1978 to explicitly include HMOs under the IC, giving the government agency powers to issue cease-and-desist orders to prevent fraud or similar cases.

The proposed amendments also include placing the IC under the BSP which ensures that all financial service providers in the country are regulated by a single authority.

At present, HMOs are covered by the IC under Executive Order 2015, but Go said it is still unclear if they are covered by the Insurance Code, and the measure will ensure that HMOs are subjected to the provisions of the Code not provided for in the EO.

"Ang panukala ay naglalayong isali ang HMO sa Insurance Code para maprotektahan ang interes ng mga kababayan natin at mahikayat ang competitive market sa health insurance industry," he said.

(The measure seeks to include HMOs in the Insurance Code to protect the interest of our countrymen and to encourage a competitive market in the health insurance industry.)

The IC is an attached agency of the Department of Finance (DOF) mandated to regulate and supervise the insurance, pre-need, and HMO industries in accordance with the provisions of the Insurance Code.—AOL, GMA News