Bill Text: NY A03295 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to physician charges for missed appointments by patients; bars physicians from charging fees if a patient arrives on time for appointment but was not seen; requires written policy about missed appointments be prominently posted in patient waiting room and included in bills mailed to patients.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to health [A03295 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A03295-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         3295--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 2, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. DINOWITZ, SEAWRIGHT, ZINERMAN, GONZALEZ-ROJAS,
          MAGNARELLI, JEAN-PIERRE, GUNTHER, RAGA, HYNDMAN, SIMON  --  read  once
          and  referred to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee

        AN  ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to physician charges
          for missed appointments by patients

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
     2  19-a to read as follows:
     3    § 19-a. Physician charges for missed appointments of patients; limita-
     4  tion and disclosure. 1.  No physician licensed under article one hundred
     5  thirty-one of the education law shall charge any patient a fee or  other
     6  charge  for  failing  to  appear  at  the  appointed time of a scheduled
     7  appointment where the  physician's  office  has  received  notice  of  a
     8  cancellation or a change of the appointment at least one hour in advance
     9  of the scheduled appointment.
    10    2.  In  any  case  where  a  physician's policy is to charge a fee for
    11  missed patient appointments, advance written notice of the terms of such
    12  policy shall be prominently posted in the patient waiting  room  of  the
    13  physician's  office  and  periodically  included  with  bills  mailed to
    14  patients. No fee for missed patient appointments may be charged  in  the
    15  absence  of  such  advance written notice being given to the patient.  A
    16  patient cancellation fee shall be barred if a patient waits longer  than
    17  one hour after their appointment time and was not seen by a physician. A
    18  patient  shall  be  notified if the waiting time is approximately forty-
    19  five minutes or more. Furthermore, no cancellation fee shall be  charged
    20  if a patient arrives on time for their appointment but was not seen by a
    21  physician.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01744-02-3
        A. 3295--A                          2

     1    3.  No provision of this section shall be deemed to authorize a physi-
     2  cian to charge a fee for missed patient appointments if such  charge  is
     3  otherwise  prohibited  by law, regulation, rule or practice or deemed to
     4  be unethical.
     5    4.  A physician who is determined, after opportunity for a hearing, to
     6  have violated the provisions of this section shall be subject to a  fine
     7  pursuant  to  subdivision  two  of section twelve-b of this article.  In
     8  addition, where the provisions of this section have been  violated,  the
     9  physician  shall refund to the patient the amount collected as a fee for
    10  a missed patient appointment.
    11    § 2. This act shall take effect on the first  of  the  calendar  month
    12  next  succeeding  the  sixtieth day after it shall have become a law and
    13  shall apply to all appointments scheduled  to  occur  on  or  after  its
    14  effective date no matter when made.