The Ontario government says it plans to recoup loan payments issued to doctors at the outset of the pandemic to cover their increased costs and loss of revenue from lower patient volumes.

In a memo issued to the Ontario Medical Association, the province says it is “critical” to recover more than $521 million in outstanding loan payments in order to fund other priorities.

Beginning next month, the Ministry of Health will deduct pay from physicians’ monthly OHIP payments over a one-year period, rather than the original five-month timeline it first proposed, with no interest charged.

Since loan repayments began in April 2021, the Ministry has recovered nearly $139 million out of the total $660 million provided.