Ontario Physician Payment Review Board

The General Manager of OHIP brought a motion to dismiss a physician's appeal regarding the denial of sixteen claims for fee code W010.

The claims were denied because they were not submitted with the correct enrollment information within the prescribed six-month timeframe.

The Physician Payment Review Board found that the claims were refused under s. 18(3) of the Health Insurance Act for failing to meet prescribed requirements, rather than under s. 18(2).

Consequently, the Board concluded it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal, as decisions under s. 18(3) can only be challenged by way of judicial review to the Divisional Court.

The motion was granted and the appeal dismissed without costs.

The applicant physician appealed the General Manager's denial of five claims for surgical procedures.

The General Manager argued the claims were stale dated under s. 18(3) of the Health Insurance Act because the applicant failed to submit requested operating room notes within six months of the service date.

The Physician Payment Review Board found that the claims were submitted within the prescribed time and that the request for operating room notes constituted an interim assessment under s. 18(2), not a prescribed requirement under s. 18(3).

The Board ordered the applicant to resubmit the claims with the notes for a fresh assessment by the General Manager.

The applicant physician appealed OHIP's denial of payment for fee codes Z428 and E628, which he billed for extracting pacemaker leads during a cardiac transplant surgery without using extraction sheaths.

OHIP argued the codes required the use of extraction sheaths and that the extraction was an inherent component of the transplant procedure.

The Physician Payment Review Board, assisted by a peer physician advisor, found that pacemaker lead extraction is an ancillary procedure with independent risks and that the fee code's use of the word 'including' does not make extraction sheaths a mandatory condition for payment.

The Board ordered OHIP to pay the applicant for the submitted fee codes.

The applicant physician appealed OHIP's decision to deny payment for fee codes Z428 and E628 for pacemaker lead extraction performed during a cardiac transplant surgery.

OHIP argued the codes were not payable because extraction sheaths were not used and the extraction was an inherent component of the transplant procedure.

The Physician Payment Review Board, assisted by a peer physician advisor, found that pacemaker lead extraction is an ancillary procedure with independent risks and is separately billable.

The Board interpreted the fee code descriptor 'including' as non-restrictive, concluding that the use of extraction sheaths is not a mandatory condition for payment.

The Board ordered OHIP to pay the applicant for the claims.

The General Manager of OHIP requested a reconsideration of a Board decision that found the Board had jurisdiction to hear Dr. Rao's appeal regarding denied claims.

The General Manager argued the Board made a material error of law by failing to determine if it had jurisdiction under s. 18(3) of the Health Insurance Act.

The Board denied the request for reconsideration, finding no material error of law, as the previous decision correctly identified that the basis for the General Manager's refusal of the claims was unclear and required a hearing on the merits to determine if it fell under s. 18(2) or s. 18(3).

The General Manager of OHIP brought a motion to dismiss a physician's appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

The General Manager had denied the physician's claims for insured services, arguing the physician failed to submit supporting documentation within the prescribed six-month timeframe under s. 18(3) of the Health Insurance Act.

The General Manager contended that appeals of s. 18(3) decisions can only be heard by the Divisional Court on judicial review.

The physician argued the claims were submitted in compliance with the Act and should be assessed under s. 18(2), which the Board has jurisdiction to hear.

The Physician Payment Review Board dismissed the motion, finding it has jurisdiction to determine whether the General Manager appropriately interpreted the scope of 'prescribed requirements' under s. 18(3) and whether the refusal more properly falls under s. 18(2).

The General Manager of OHIP alleged that the applicant physician misrepresented the nature of services by billing fee code K070 multiple times for the same patient when modifying home care medical orders.

The applicant appealed to the Physician Payment Review Board, arguing his billing practice was consistent with the Schedule of Benefits.

The Board found that the wording of fee code K070 does not expressly limit its use to the initial home care application.

The Board concluded that the applicant's practice of billing K070 when submitting a fresh home care services request form to modify medical orders was a reasonable interpretation and did not constitute misrepresentation under s. 18(2) of the Health Insurance Act.

The General Manager of OHIP brought a motion to dismiss a physician's appeal for lack of jurisdiction, arguing the decision to demand repayment was made under s. 37.1(7) of the Health Insurance Act due to an absence of records, which is subject only to judicial review.

The physician argued the dispute concerned the interpretation of a fee code, granting the Physician Payment Review Board jurisdiction under s. 18.

The Board dismissed the motion, finding that the essential character of the dispute concerned the interpretation of a fee code, and that the General Manager's correspondence satisfied the notice requirements of s. 18.

The Board concluded it had jurisdiction to hear the appeal.