Section 48: Offences and penalties.

(1) A person or Health Maintenance Organisation who -
(a) fails to pay into the account of the Authority, State health insurance scheme, or any health insurance fund under this Act, within the specified period;
(b) deducts the contribution from the employee's wages and withholds the contribution or refuses or neglects to remit the contribution to the appropriate fund concerned within the specified time;
(c) fails to remit payments to Health Care Providers within the specified period indicated in the operational guidelines;
(d) fails to settle fee-for-service or other claims from the Health Care Providers within the stipulated time allowed in the operational guidelines;
(e) manipulates the enrollee register for the benefit of other parties before or after the release of the register by the Health Insurance Schemes;
(f) fails to provide care to a duly registered enrollee; or
(g) issues a dud cheque, commits an offence.
(2) A person who commits an offence under subsection 1 (g) is liable on conviction -
(a) in the case of a first time offender, to a fine of at least N 1,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not more than two years or both; and
(b) in the case of a second or subsequent offender, to a fine of at least N2,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not more than five years or both.
(3) A person who commits any offence under subsection 1 is liable to prosecution under the relevant laws guiding financial transactions.