The former Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Sylvester Mensah who was arrested by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) Friday morning has been transferred to the facility’s regional headquarters for further interrogation.

It is not clear what his charges are and when he would be released, a close associate of Mr. Mensah told myjoyonline.com.

Mr. Mensah tendered himself to the BNI on the New Year Day, January 1, after seven armed BNI operatives stormed his residence at Tse Addo near Trade Fair in Accra today’s dawn.
Mr. Mensah was not home when the armed men invaded his residence.
They however proceeded to search his house and manhandle his security man, our sources claimed.

It is also not clear if his arrest has anything to do with a fraudulent case being investigated by the BNI in which five officials of the NHIA have bee arrested.

Some 17 persons have also been cautioned and granted bail by the BNI.

The investigations began six months ago at the instance of the President John Mahama and according to the BNI, many of the medical facilities have been falsifying documents and submitting bloated claims to the NHIA, and in some cases colluded with officials of the NHIA to defraud the Authority.

But a source at the NHIA has played down reports of the arrests.

The source told Myjoyonline.com the directors of the Authority have been invited for routine interactions with officials of the BNI.

He conceded that even though there have been such interactions between officials of the two institutions  in the past, this interaction appears to be comprehensive.

The source said some of the key issues being discussed include;

1. The Accreditation/credentialing process: What processes a health facility goes through to become a service provider of the NHIA.

2. Provider tariffs: How tariffs for providers are calculated and what tariffs apply to the various provider levels under the NHIS.

3. Claims: How claims are vetted/processed. What ingredients go into claims vetting and how monies are paid to providers after claims vetting, operation of the NHIS Claims Processing Centres etc.