The Ontario government is offering a “cash advance” to doctors worried about making rent on their clinics and paying staff as patient visits decline in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Star has learned. While doctors were given new fee codes to bill the Ontario Health Insurance Plan for virtual and telephone consultations in the era of physical distancing, those payouts were not going to be made until June. “We know there’s a problem right now,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said Friday, acknowledging the Ontario Medical Association had raised concerns some clinics would be forced out of business, leaving patients in the lurch. Doctors will be asked to pay back the advances starting in November, with no interest charges, submitting five equal monthly payments by March 2021. Doctors can also apply in many cases for federal programs to supplement income.

Source: thestar April 18, 2020 01:52 UTC