Dr. Ma 'deeply disappointed' by continued OHIP litigation

As Ontario’s health insurance authority moves to appeal a court ruling that acknowledged the exceptional pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kingston physician Dr. Elaine Ma says the motion to request an appeal sends a troubling message to doctors who stepped up during a public health crisis.

On Tuesday, Dec.16, 2025, Ontario’s Divisional Court made a decision that partially favoured the Kingston physician in a dispute over more than $600,000 in COVID-19 vaccination clinic billings. But two weeks later, on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) filed a motion seeking leave to appeal the Divisional Court’s decision. In a written statement to Kingstonist late on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, Ma expressed her “deep disappointment” with the ongoing litigation.

Ma organized 48 mass vaccination clinics in Kingston during the pandemic and was later ordered by OHIP to repay $600,962 for alleged billing non-compliance, a decision upheld by the Health Services Appeal and Review Board (HSARB). On judicial review, however, the Divisional Court ruled it was unreasonable to conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic did not constitute an extenuating circumstance, and it sent the matter back to the HSARB to reconsider how much, if anything, Ma must repay.

In the motion filed with the Ontario Court of Appeal on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, OHIP argued the court misinterpreted section 17.5 of the Health Insurance Act, which allows payment in “extenuating circumstances,” and raised issues of broad public importance for the administration of the provincial health insurance system. OHIP maintains that the court’s interpretation improperly expands both the scope of section 17.5 and the Board’s authority, and warns that it could complicate future physician billing disputes. The motion for leave to appeal will be decided in writing by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

In her statement, Ma pointed out, “The Court was clear in recognizing what front-line physicians and the public have always known: COVID-19 was an extenuating circumstance, and physicians were practising in the midst of an unprecedented public health emergency while responding to urgent government calls to vaccinate quickly and at scale. That finding mattered — not just to me, but to every physician who stepped up during the pandemic.”

She said OHIP’s decision to continue litigating “despite this clear judicial guidance” signals that the health insurance authority is choosing an adversarial approach that “focuses on avoiding payment for work that was unquestionably done, rather than acknowledging context, fairness, and the realities of front-line care during a crisis.”

“Many had hoped that new leadership would mark a shift toward rebuilding trust and working collaboratively with physicians for the benefit of patients and the health-care system,” Ma explained, noting that the former General Manager of OHIP, Jeff Hutchison, is no longer in that role, having been replaced by Patrick Dicerni, who also serves as the Assistant Deputy Minister and Executive Officer for OHIP at Ontario's Ministry of Health, steering policy, program delivery, and strategic oversight for the province's health insurance plan.

Ma emphasized that for her, the case has always been about accountability and transparency. 

“Forty-eight mass vaccination clinics were run over nine months, and I personally spent hundreds of hours outside of clinic time entering and correcting vaccination data in COVax to ensure accurate public records. 36,800 vaccines were provided,” she said.

 “People were never turned away — including members of the military, students, refugees, and individuals with expired or missing health cards — even though many of those vaccinations were never paid for.”

At a time when Ontario is facing a growing physician shortage and strained public trust in the health-care system, Ma said the message sent by continued litigation is concerning: “Physicians need to know that acting in good faith, in service of their communities during a crisis, will not later be met with years of punishment.”

“I will continue to participate fully in the legal process," Ma continued. "But I hope OHIP will carefully reflect on what continuing this fight conveys to Ontario’s physicians — and whether that is truly the tone it wants to set for the future of our health-care system.”

By: Michelle Dorey Forestell, LJI Reporter, The Kingstonist