A Kingston, Ont. doctor who has been ordered to repay more than $600,000 to the provincial government for improperly billing thousands of COVID-19 vaccinations says she’s not surprised by the verdict but is disappointed by it.
The dispute concerned Dr. Elaine Ma who organized drive-in vaccination clinics, administering shots in several parking lots in the Kingston region between January 2021 and January 2022.
The Ministry of Health argued Ma misused the Ontario Health Insurance Plan’s (OHIP) billing code because she hired unpaid Queen’s University medical students as volunteers who could not be considered employees. In addition, the services were not provided in Ma’s office, a violation of what the province deems to be “delegated services” that are regulated under a different fee structure.
In a ruling delivered by the Health Services Appeal and Review Board on Nov. 26, Ma was found to not be eligible to bill OHIP $600,962 plus …