The Auditor General’s latest report has identified millions of dollars owed to government through the medical and dental care plans—and it’s believed that amount could be much higher.
The report indicates that government is owed $2.2-million from physicians and dentists, based on 34 audits on the books from April 2021 to March 2024.
The report found that many of the audits took years to complete, with some dating back to 2017.
Moreover, government is slow to collect the funds owed to them, with only seven per cent, or $146,000, of that $2.2-million being collected.
The AG’s report on the province’s medical and dental plans released on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (VOCM News)
Denise Hanrahan doesn’t believe that number is an accurate representation of what is actually owed to the province based on the number of transactions that go through the system.
She says if they think about the rate of fraud at the low end of the spectrum, one per cent, that would mean $4-million per year through the system.
Hanrahan acknowledges that the money owing could be the result of human error or fraud, but it is hard to tell when such a small number of claims is being audited.
Acting Health Minister John Haggie (VOCM News)
Acting Health Minister John Haggie says one of the reasons why such a small amount of money has been collected could be the “alternative dispute resolution process” that’s in place with the NLMA, which he describes as being “quasi-legal” and, as a result, quite lengthy.
He says they want to look at creating methods of dealing with payment issues promptly. He believes there is a “significant education piece” to the issue as well.
