HEALTH maintenance organizations (HMOs) returned to profitability in the first three months of 2024, with revenues surging to P18.68 billion.

The Insurance Commission reported on Monday that the HMO industry's total revenues totaled P18.68 billion, improving by 20.09 percent in the first quarter of this year from last year's P15.55 billion.

This resulted in a total net income of P6.8 million, a reversal from January-March 2023's P319 million net loss.

The big revenue increase, IC said, was mainly attributed to the surge in membership fee collection, amounting to P17.78 billion during the quarter from last year's P15.13 billion.

Total health care benefits, likewise, picked up by 17.30 percent to P15.05 billion in the first quarter from P12.83 billion in the same period last year.

The industry's total assets also recorded a substantial growth of 10.07 percent to P71.31 billion in the first three months of the year from last year's P64.79 billion.

Meanwhile, total liabilities increased to P61.49 billion, up 16.11 percent from last year's P52.96 billion. The commission attributed this expansion to the rising membership fee reserves and claims reserves, which both rose to 15.96 percent and 51.57 percent, respectively.

Total capital stock and invested assets also registered substantial growth at 4.47 percent and 43.90 percent. Both rose to P8.14 billion and P18.49 billion, respectively, from last year's P5.66 billion and P17.7 billion.

Total equity, however, declined by 16.96 percent to P9.82 billion from last year's P11.83 billion, owing mainly to "the decline in retained earnings by 85.33 percent or by P5.31 billion."