What the 0327-88 is for
The grant helps Northern Ontario residents with the cost of travelling to an OHIP-insured specialist service or a procedure at a ministry-funded facility, such as a CT scan. It is based on the distance to the nearest specialist or facility that can provide the service without a delay that would harm the patient’s health. It doesn’t cover meals or taxis.
To qualify, the patient must live in one of the ten listed northern districts, be OHIP-insured on the date of service, be referred within Ontario or to Manitoba for an insured service, travel at least 100 km one way by road, and have no other program, such as WSIB, NIHB or private insurance, covering the cost.
Who completes it
The patient, a parent or guardian for a child under 16, or a substitute decision-maker completes Sections 1 to 5: patient details, companion, any third-party agency that paid in advance, payment preference and the signed authorization. The specialist or the ministry-funded facility completes and signs Section 6 to confirm the service.
Usually the patient brings the printed form to the specialist appointment with their part filled in by hand, and the specialist’s office completes Section 6 at the desk before the patient mails it to Sudbury. In Medulla, you send Sections 1 to 5 to the patient over a secure link before the appointment. They fill them in on the form from any device, their answers land on the PDF where you complete Section 6, and the patient leaves with one complete application.
How to fill in Section 6
The service and the provider
Enter the date of service, your name, initials, professional designation, OHIP billing number and specialty, and the facility and town where you saw the patient. The program pays only for specialty medical services: a Royal College-certified specialist, a CPSO specialist certificate holder outside family or general practice, a GP with a Focused Practice designation, certain Manitoba specialists, certain dental programs, or a ministry-funded facility.
Type of service and coverage questions
Tick whether the visit was a consultation, procedure, surgery or follow-up. Answer whether it was OHIP-insured, WSIB-related, part of the Assistive Devices Program, the Cleft Lip and Palate Program, the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program or the Ontario Fertility Program, and whether the patient was hospitalized on the trip.
Lodging nights
Tick the number of lodging nights medically necessary for the patient to receive care. For service dates on or after December 1, 2024, the allowance runs from $175 for one night to $1,150 for eight or more, and it depends on the nights you certify. The patient must still send original lodging receipts.
Certification
Sign the certification. The form prints physician fee code K036 beside it.
Common reasons it’s returned
- Section 6 unsigned, or completed by the referring family physician rather than the specialist.
- No date of service, or a date that doesn’t match the trip.
- Lodging nights left blank when the patient is claiming accommodation.
- An application received more than 12 months after the date of service.
- No tickets or itinerary showing the fare for air, rail or bus travel.
Submitting and who pays
The patient mails the paper application to the NHTG Program at 159 Cedar Street, Sudbury, or applies online with the ON00857 provider form attached. The ministry says approved grants are paid within six weeks of receiving a correctly completed form. The form prints fee code K036 for the physician’s part.