HI HR76

Requests the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to establish criteria and penalties for Medicaid patients who fail to attend scheduled medical and health care-related appointments.

Identifies missed appointments by Medicaid patients as contributing to physicians' reluctance to accept Medicaid patients and increasing overall medical care costs.

Notes that missed appointments negatively impact patient health outcomes and contribute to inefficient health care system operations by increasing wait times and operational costs.

Acknowledges multiple factors should be considered when developing strategies to reduce no-shows, including patient factors (memory, cognitive issues, substance misuse), environmental factors (homelessness, transportation), clinician factors (patient-clinician rapport), and scheduling factors (appointment timing and reminders).

Directs certified copies of the resolution be transmitted to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Director of Human Services, and Director of Health.