Ontario government plans to recoup COVID-19 loans to province’s doctors – CBC
Province laid out plans to recoup money in memo issued to Ontario Medical Association on Friday
Jul 15, 2023
Ontario doctors who received loans from the province during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to cover increased costs and offset revenue losses stemming from lower patient volumes will now have one year to pay those sums back.
The Ontario government laid out plans to recoup the money in a memo issued to the Ontario Medical Association on Friday. The province said it is “critical” to recover more than $521 million in outstanding loan payments from the COVID-19 Advance Payment Program in order to fund other priorities.
The combination of low COVID-19 infection rates and strong vaccine uptake throughout the province suggests the time is right to “transition to a post-pandemic state,” it added.
“When we introduced this program, we were clear that these payments would need to be paid back, as is the case with any loan,” the memo stated.
“These funds are critical for important priorities like expanding access to team-based primary care, home care, mental health services and shortening wait times for key surgeries and procedures.”
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ont-doctor-loans-1.6908143
