A Toronto Doctor has been accused of billing the Ontario Health Insurance Plan for over 2700 false medical claims since the mid-1990s. This included billings for family members whom she had never actually treated.

According to the Toronto Star “the Ontario Provincial Police anti-rackets and health fraud unit charged the physician on March 12, 2004, after investigating a complaint from the health ministry.”

The physician’s counsel blamed a mental disorder for the accused’s false belief that she had actually performed all the treatments billed to OHIP. A litany of expert witnesses corroborated the defence’s explanation, and one stated that the  doctor suffers from “a mood disorder veering from depression to mania.”

The total cost to OHIP is said to be $65,000. A decision is pending in this case.

Source: Toronto Star February 20, 2009