If a client fails to appear at an appointment or requests to cancel or reschedule with less than 24 hours' notice, you may charge them a no-show or late cancellation fee.
⚠️ Note: Providers may not charge no-show or late cancellation fees if the client has a plan with Medicaid coverage or if the commercial insurance plan contract states that no-show fees are not allowed. Examples include Kaiser Permanente Northern California plans and dual Medicare/Medicaid plans. Additionally, Magellan clients can only be charged no more than $90 for a no-show fee.
Policy recommendations
Additional fees are often necessary but challenging aspects of your client relationship. You want to discourage expensive and inefficient client behaviors while remaining sensitive to their personal and financial needs as clients seeking care.
To help make leveraging fees as straightforward and empathetic as possible, please consider the following:
Ensure your no-show/cancellation fee is set in the Basic Information section of your Profile Settings.
Outline any fees a client may be charged based on their actions, especially if they contact you directly to cancel an appointment after the cancellation window has closed. Surprise fees are much more likely to create a negative experience.
Consider forgiving or offering a fee reduction on initial intake no-shows or late cancellations. As the first session approaches, some clients experience apprehension and anxiety. Reaching out to the client and establishing a supportive environment helps reset expectations and reassures clients that proceeding with care is the best next step for them. Learn more about waiving a fee below.
Fee guidelines
Clients are notified of no-show and late cancellation fees when they acknowledge Grow's Practice Policies and cancellation fees on each provider's booking page.
Note: No-shows and late cancellations are invoiced the same way in your provider portal by marking a client as a no-show and completing the "No-show fee" field during invoicing. Providers may set their fee up to a maximum of $200 unless a payor stipulation requires out-of-pocket fees to be capped at a lower amount.
❌ No-shows
A client is considered a no-show if they miss an appointment or are late to a scheduled appointment by 15 minutes or more. You must stay in session for the entire 15-minute grace period to collect the fee. If a client joins the session within the grace period, even briefly, a no-show fee should not be charged.
⏰ Late cancellations
If a client requests to cancel an appointment without at least 24 hours' notice, it's considered a late cancellation. Consider forgiving or offering a fee reduction on initial intake no-shows or late cancellations.
Charge a fee
Vido walkthrough
Written walkthrough
To invoice and get paid for a no-show or late cancellation:
Click here to navigate to the Appointments dashboard via the sidebar.
Select the Unsubmitted tab and search for the related client appointment.
After locating the appointment, select the Submit Invoice option.
In the notes view, select the 'Mark As No-Show' option in the top left.
On the subsequent screen, the fields will auto-populate with information from your latest note or claim with the client. The visit price will default to the amount set in the "Practice details" section of your Profile Settings.
Finally, select the Submit button in the top right to charge your client the fee.
The invoice will be added to the "Billed" number on your Payouts page. It can then be viewed in the Past tab of the Appointments dashboard.
Reduce or waive a fee
⚠️ Before you begin
Grow encourages all providers to communicate with clients directly regarding any scheduling miscommunications or fee disputes. We kindly ask that you contact your client directly to explain the late cancellation/no-show charges. This is because these fees are at your discretion, as you are setting the boundaries for your practice.
Clients can view a copy of the late cancellation policies here in section 8. Clients are encouraged to reach out to their providers directly when they have a valid reason for the fee dispute.
Reduce a fee
In certain circumstances, you may want to offer your client a reduced no-show or late cancellation fee. Follow the steps outlined above to begin. Once the invoicing process brings you to the "Invoice Details" section, the price defaults to the fee you established in your practice details settings. Reduce or adjust the fee to $0 before selecting Submit at the top right.
Once you submit the invoice, the appointment's status will be updated in the client's chart timeline.
Waive a previously charged fee
⚠️ Note: Please do not instruct clients to contact the support team about their fees. All fees are at the provider's discretion. You must request all charge adjustments by speaking to the Billing Support team.
To waive a previously charged fee:
The provider must contact the client directly to discuss refunding a no-show or late cancellation fee.
If the provider agrees to refund the client after their discussion and waiving the fee aligns with their practice boundaries, they should then contact Provider Billing Support to process the refund.
Please contact the support team by initiating a message, e.g., 'How do I waive a no-show fee?' via your provider portal using the Help Widget. The team will confirm the client and fee information with you before canceling the fee.