Ministry of health confirms every one of Ontario's 500 highest billers are individual doctors

Toronto | Every single one of the 500 Ontario physician who billed more than $1 million last year—including an ophthalmologist who billed over $6 million—were individual doctors, health minister Dr. Eric Hoskins' press secretary confirmed. They are not, as some doctors have suggested, groups of specialists who billed under one physician's name."The ministry has gone through all of this and has mechanisms to determine the nature of the billings," Shae Greenfield, Dr. Hoskins' aide, told the Medical Post. "They can bill on behalf of multiple doctors but we need to know who they're billing for."This comes contrary to suggestions from Dr. Nadia Alam, a spokesperson for the group Concerned Ontario Doctors, who claimed following Dr. Hoskins' press conference on Friday, April 22, that it was likely these extraordinary sums were going to groups of specialists rather than individuals. She also said that one such group had come forward after checking their billings, very confident that they were the mysterious $6-million biller Dr. Hoskins had spoken about during the press conference.Concerned Ontario Doctors later tweeted that 14 doctors were—in fact—the top biller, but Dr. Alam clarified that Concerned Ontario Doctors didn't actually know for sure. Only the ministry had access to that information.While Greenfield said he didn't personally have access to the individual data (which is also protected under privacy law), he did explain that every doctor who submits billings on behalf of other doctors must complete a certain process so the ministry is aware. He said the ministry has assured him that none of these doctors are among the 500 individuals who billed OHIP over $1 million."That is the way the system works," he emphasized.Greenfield wouldn't comment on whether or not any of the high-billing individuals were audited but Dr. Hoskins said during the press conference that he did not suspect any of them of wrongdoing—rather he claimed to use them as examples where savings might be found.Dr. Alam expressed frustration about this and maintained that cataracts surgery—the fee code both she and Dr. Hoskins suspect is behind the massive billings for many of the province's top paid doctors—is still a difficult and delicate surgery, and that equipment has gone up in price, prompting some doctors to take out several-million dollar loans.However, she did acknowledge that this fee code needs to be updated, claiming that the Ontario Medical Association was looking at how best to do so. (When asked about this OMA President Dr. Mike Toth would not confirm or deny that the association will suggest any changes to specific fee codes. On Monday, April 25, the group wrote a letter to the ministry of health expressing its willingness to return to formal negotiations where such suggestions would be tabled.)"(Dr. Hoskins) is making a huge deal about something that doesn’t even matter to most people on the receiving end of health care," Dr. Alam said, pointing out that billings from these 500+ physicians, while significant, still account for less than 2% of the total health-care budget."I fear that it’s going to eclipse all of the mess underneath."

Ministry of health confirms every one of Ontario's 500 highest billers are individual doctors

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