Billing Number Application

To obtain your billing number application, call the OHIP office at (416) 314-7495
or find the application online.

You need document 3384-83 - Registration for Regulated Health Professions.

Under the current process, you can only apply for a billing number once you have a licence for independent practice (which you’ll receive just before July 1st - see Getting your Licence). Remember that your billing number is different than your CMPA and licence to practice, which, unlike your OHIP number, are essential to have before your first day. However, the good news is that you can begin working once you have a licence and OHIP will pay you for insured services, so long as you keep clear records and submit them within six months of providing the care. Assuming your application is complete, experience from previous years suggests that a billing number will be issued after a four to six week wait (there is much less of a wait if you are working in Northern communities). You can then submit claims, which if submitted by mid-month, will generally yield payment around the middle of the following month. Thus, while applying for a billing number is part of entering practice, it is also important to prepare financially for a period of minimal or potentially zero cash flow, depending upon what type of practice you are entering. Sometimes a community, hospital or group of colleagues can help arrange some up-front money to help tide you over. Such an agreement should be discussed and agreed upon before you start.

A final point on the payment front concerns the WSIB - Workers’ Safety and Insurance Board. Although fees for visits are covered through OHIP, claims for medical reports are paid by the WSIB. Any physician licensed for independent practice is encouraged to apply for a WSIB provider number through Agency Registration at (416) 344-2935 or (416) 344-2936. They can also provide you with a schedule of fees and the codes. As with OHIP, work done before you have a provider number will be reimbursed once the number is issued. WSIB issues cheques twice monthly. You do not need to submit an invoice, merely the medical report, which must include your billing number, the patient claim number and the fee code.

In terms of actually “billing OHIP” for your services, you will receive a variety of packages from OHIP, the OMA and other private sector groups explaining the different mechanisms for submitting your billing. These will depend on a range of factors, including what type of work (salary, fee for service, etc) and where (hospital, group practice, solo practice, etc). Ultimately, most people who are working in a fairly independent, “fee for service” model will probably need access to some form of billing software.

Remember, if you are planning to work in a province other than Ontario, you will have to investigate that province’s billing procedures.