A Kingston, Ont., doctor celebrated for organizing drive-thru vaccination clinics that helped thousands get shots at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic is now being ordered to pay back more than $600,000 in fees for those same services.
Dr. Elaine Ma said she organized 45 mass vaccination clinics that administered roughly 35,000 doses between April 2021 and the following February.
Her work was recognized by the Ontario College of Family Physicians, which granted her its Award of Excellence in 2021, in part pointing to Ma’s role in boosting local vaccination rates.
About a year later, the doctor said she received notice from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) seeking to recoup the money she had billed for the shots — approximately $600,000, plus around $35,000 in interest.
Canada is the same, just single payer (ie instead of hospitals billing the insurance company, they bill OHIP). There’s still complicated codes, though for what it’s worth they don’t change much, if at all. If you’re billing thousands of shots you’d probably want to double check you’re using the right codes.