Ontario hospital apologizes for mistakenly asking 100 patients to pay $120 for test

An Ontario hospital is apologizing for mistakenly asking 100 patients to pay $120 for a medical test covered by OHIP.

“This was an error on our part and we can confirm there is no cost to patients for this procedure,” University Health Network Vice President of Communications Kyla Kumar told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.

Of the 100 people contacted, 20 patients already paid for the procedure and will be reimbursed, Kumar said.

“The error originated as a result of a communication and interpretation error with the physicians practice and billings department around covered and uncovered services.”

The hospital network launched an investigation on Tuesday after patients were notified by a clinic at Toronto General Hospital that OHIP stopped covering a Vestibular Head Impulse Test (vHIT) on July 1.

“It’s at least two weeks now people have been paying for this,” Akio Maroon, one of the patients asked to pay for the test, said on Wednesday.

“What about the people who declined?” she added, concerned about those who opted out due to the cost.

Maroon said she is feeling a flurry of emotions – angry, upset, relieved and frustrated – on top of dealing with her health as a single mother of two.

She was recently placed in a medically induced state twice as her body felt like it was in a parachute constantly spinning faster than a rollercoaster, she said.

On Monday, she posted a redacted email from a Toronto General Hospital clinic that asked her to pay $120 for a test she said is medically-necessary to diagnose her condition. In addition to more than 445,000 views, the ministry of health responded assuring that this was an OHIP covered service.

Ultimately, she’s left wondering what would have happened if she never flagged the incident.

“If I hadn't tweeted about this three days ago, where would we be?” Maroon said.