What happens if you miss an OHIP billing cut-off date?

Claims submitted after the monthly cut-off are held for the next payment cycle, which may not appear until the following remittance cycle. The claim itself is not lost - just delayed. However, if the 3-month stale-date deadline passes before the claim is submitted, the claim is rejected; recovery requires demonstrating extenuating circumstances to the Ministry.

What is the OHIP 3-month stale-date rule?

OHIP claims for in-province insured services must be submitted within 3 months of the date of service (effective April 1, 2023, per Ministry INFOBulletin 230402). After 3 months, OHIP rejects the claim as stale-dated. Review is possible through a formal Ministry process, but the criteria are strict and the process is time-consuming. FHO practices with high patient volume are most at risk - a single missed batch can mean significant unrecoverable revenue.

When is the OHIP billing cut-off date each month?

The OHIP billing cut-off is the 18th of each month at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. When the 18th falls on a weekend or Ontario statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. December has an earlier cut-off due to year-end holidays - the Ministry of Health publishes the exact December date annually in October or November.

Do the new FHO+ time-based billing codes (Q310-Q313) follow the same cut-off schedule?

Yes. The FHO+ hourly rate codes (Q310, Q311, Q312, Q313) follow the same MCEDT submission deadlines as all other OHIP fee-for-service claims. For the first year (April 2026 - March 2027), these codes are paid like regular FFS claims (per OMA implementation guidance; subject to official confirmation). Starting April 2027, the Ministry has indicated it may shift FHO+ to monthly lump-sum payments (per OMA/Ministry guidance; subject to change).

What is the preventive care bonus deadline in Ontario for 2026?

Ontario's Cumulative Preventive Care Bonus for the 2025-2026 fiscal year must be claimed by June 18, 2026 — the standard OHIP cut-off date for May service periods. Claims submitted after this date are stale-dated and automatically rejected. FHG and CCM physicians are eligible for up to $12,800 in preventive care bonuses. FHO and FHN physicians lost eligibility for colorectal cancer, mammography, and Pap smear bonuses effective April 2024, but remain eligible for immunization and other qualifying categories.

When do OHIP payments arrive after submission?

OHIP typically processes payments within 10-14 business days of the monthly cut-off date. Claims submitted before the 18th are generally paid by the last business day of that month or the first business day of the following month. The Remittance Advice is posted to MCEDT on the same day as the payment deposit.

Billing Calendar

OHIP Billing Cut-Off Dates 2026–2027: Complete Calendar for Ontario Physicians

By Marc & Jason Lacroix • OpsMed.ca • Updated April 2026

Missing an OHIP billing cut-off date means waiting another month for payment. For FHO practices managing capitation reconciliation, shadow billing, and the new FHO+ time-based codes (Q310–Q313), knowing exactly when to submit is critical. This calendar shows every cut-off date and stale-date deadline for the 2026–2027 fiscal year.

2026–2027 OHIP Cut-Off Calendar

Month	Service Period	Submission Cut-Off	Stale-Date Deadline
April 2026	Apr 1 – Apr 30, 2026	April 20, 2026	July 2026
May 2026	May 1 – May 31, 2026	May 19, 2026	August 2026
June 2026	Jun 1 – Jun 30, 2026	June 18, 2026	September 2026
July 2026	Jul 1 – Jul 31, 2026	July 20, 2026	October 2026
August 2026	Aug 1 – Aug 31, 2026	August 18, 2026	November 2026
September 2026	Sep 1 – Sep 30, 2026	September 18, 2026	December 2026
October 2026	Oct 1 – Oct 31, 2026	October 19, 2026	January 2027
November 2026	Nov 1 – Nov 30, 2026	November 18, 2026	February 2027
December 2026	Dec 1 – Dec 31, 2026	Dec 13–15, 2026 *	March 2027
January 2027	Jan 1 – Jan 31, 2027	January 18, 2027	April 2027
February 2027	Feb 1 – Feb 28, 2027	February 18, 2027	May 2027
March 2027	Mar 1 – Mar 31, 2027	March 18, 2027	June 2027

* December 2026: The Ministry of Health publishes the exact December cut-off annually in October or November. All billing software vendors and OpsMed’s Content Watchdog will update this calendar when the official date is released. Plan for mid-December and confirm before submitting.

Rule: Cut-off is the 18th of each month at 5:00 PM Eastern Time, shifted to the next business day when the 18th falls on a weekend or Ontario statutory holiday. Stale-date deadlines assume the last day of service in that calendar month (3-month window per INFOBulletin 230402).

OHIP Payment Dates 2026–2027

When Do OHIP Payments Arrive?

OHIP processes claims in monthly cycles. Claims submitted before the cut-off date are typically paid approximately 10–14 business days after the cut-off, with the Remittance Advice (RA) posted to MCEDT on the same day as the payment deposit. The exact payment date is not published in advance by the Ministry and may vary by 1–3 business days.

Check your MCEDT inbox for the RA to confirm payment amounts and any adjustments.

Estimated OHIP Payment Schedule 2026–2027

Submission Month	Cut-Off Date	Expected Payment
April 2026	April 20	Late April / Early May 2026
May 2026	May 19	Late May / Early June 2026
June 2026	June 18	Late June / Early July 2026
July 2026	July 20	Late July / Early August 2026
August 2026	August 18	Late August / Early September 2026
September 2026	September 18	Late September / Early October 2026
October 2026	October 19	Late October / Early November 2026
November 2026	November 18	Late November / Early December 2026
December 2026	Dec 13–15 *	Late December 2026 / Early January 2027
January 2027	January 18	Late January / Early February 2027
February 2027	February 18	Late February / Early March 2027
March 2027	March 18	Late March / Early April 2027

Note: The Ministry does not publish exact payment dates in advance. “Expected Payment” reflects the typical 10–14 business day processing window observed historically. Actual deposit dates may vary by 1–3 business days. Check your MCEDT Remittance Advice for confirmation.

What Happens If You Miss a Cut-Off?

Missing the monthly cut-off does not mean the claim is lost — but it does mean a delay:

Claims submitted after the monthly cut-off are held for the next payment cycle and may not appear until the following remittance cycle.
The claim itself remains valid and will be processed in the following month’s run.
However, if the 3-month stale-date deadline passes before the claim is submitted, the claim is rejected; recovery requires demonstrating extenuating circumstances to the Ministry.
High-volume practices are most at risk: a single missed batch in a busy month can create a wave of claims approaching their stale-date window simultaneously.

The practical risk is not missing one month’s payment run — it’s the cascading stale-date risk when missed claims pile up.

The 3-Month Stale-Date Window

Under OHIP rules, claims for in-province insured services must be submitted within 3 months of the date of service (effective April 1, 2023, per Ministry INFOBulletin 230402). After that deadline, OHIP rejects the claim as stale-dated — returned as rejection code VJ7.

Review is possible through a formal Ministry process, but the criteria are strict and the process is time-consuming.
FHO practices with high patient volume are most at risk — a single missed batch can mean significant unrecoverable revenue.
The stale-date column in the table above shows the deadline month for each service period. Claims from April 2026, for example, must be submitted before end of July 2026.

OpsMed stale-date monitoring catches at-risk claims 30 days before the 3-month window closes and flags them for immediate submission — before the deadline, not after.

FHO+ Time-Based Billing (Q310–Q313): Same Cut-Off Rules Apply

The new FHO+ hourly rate codes follow the same MCEDT submission deadlines as all other OHIP claims:

Q310 (direct patient care), Q311 (telephone care out-of-office, $68/hr), Q312 (indirect care — lab reviews, referrals, charting, $80/hr), and Q313 (clinical administration) are all subject to the monthly cut-off dates in the calendar above.
Cumulative daily totals must be submitted per the standard MCEDT schedule.
For the first year (April 2026 – March 2027), FHO+ codes are paid like regular fee-for-service claims — processed in the same monthly cycle (per OMA implementation guidance; subject to official confirmation).
Starting April 2027, the Ministry has indicated it may shift FHO+ to monthly lump-sum payments. Cut-off logistics may change at that point (per OMA/Ministry guidance; subject to change).

For a complete breakdown of Q310–Q313 billing rules, see our FHO+ Billing Guide.

Preventive Care Bonus Ontario 2026: June 18 Deadline

Ontario’s Cumulative Preventive Care Bonus for the 2025–2026 fiscal year must be claimed by June 18, 2026 — the same monthly cut-off deadline that applies to all other OHIP submissions. Claims submitted after this date are stale-dated and automatically rejected by the Ministry.

Maximum bonus: Up to $12,800 per physician per fiscal year (FHG and CCM models).
Minimum roster: 650 enrolled patients as of March 31 of the bonus year to be eligible.
FHO/FHN eligibility change: FHO and FHN physicians lost eligibility for the Colorectal Cancer, Mammography, and Pap Smear bonuses effective April 1, 2024. They remain eligible for immunization and other qualifying preventive care categories.
Five bonus categories: Immunizations, cervical cancer screening (Pap), colorectal cancer screening, mammography, and pneumococcal vaccination — eligibility varies by model.

Reminder: The preventive care bonus claim is separate from your regular monthly OHIP submission. It uses a different claim format and must be submitted before the June 18 cut-off. Do not wait for your regular monthly billing cycle to catch it.

How to Never Miss a Cut-Off Again

Manual tracking of cut-off dates is error-prone, especially during high-volume months. OpsMed automates the entire submission cycle:

Automated MCEDT submission — claims are batched and submitted before every monthly cut-off, without manual intervention.
Stale-date monitoring — flags any claim approaching its 3-month deadline 30 days in advance.
Monthly billing performance reports — show submission status, acceptance rates, and outstanding claims by cut-off period.
Rejection management — OHIP rejections are caught and resubmitted before the stale-date window closes.

Need to verify a code before submitting? Look up any OHIP billing code → — April 2026 fees with change indicators.

OpsMed OHIP Billing

Stop tracking cut-off dates manually.

OpsMed handles claim preparation, MCEDT submission, stale-date monitoring, and rejection management — fully managed, for 1.5% of paid claims. No platform fee. No minimums.

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