NEMT No-Show Policy Template: Wait Times, Calls, Proof, and Fees

A no-show costs you a drive, a driver’s hour, and a slot you could have filled. A written policy makes every driver handle it the same way. It also gives you the record a broker asks for when a rider says the van never came. Use this template to set wait times, contact steps, and proof for broker trips, and fees for private-pay riders.

How to use this template

1. Gather the rules you already signed. Pull the no-show and cancellation sections from each broker handbook, health plan contract, and facility agreement. Write each one into Part 2.
2. Let the payer’s rule win on each trip. A Medicaid trip follows its broker’s wait and reporting steps. Your own rule covers private-pay riders and any gap a broker leaves.
3. Set your own default to the longest wait in Part 2. A driver who always waits the longest time never cuts a broker trip short.
4. Fill in Parts 1, 2, and 8, then print. Leave Part 6 blank. Drivers fill one copy per no-show, or the same fields in the driver app.
5. Train every driver and dispatcher. Have each one sign Part 10.
6. Give private-pay riders and facilities Part 8 before the first ride. Keep their signed copy.
7. Review the policy whenever a broker updates its handbook. Write the new date in Part 1.

For how each program defines the term, see what a no-show means in NEMT. To get fewer of them, see how to reduce NEMT no-shows.

The template

Part 1: Policy details

Field	Entry
Company name
Effective date
Last reviewed
Policy owner, name and phone
Dispatch number drivers call before leaving
Applies to	Drivers, attendants, dispatchers, and schedulers

Part 2: Rules by payer

One row for each broker, health plan, and facility you drive for, copied from its contract. The last row is your own rule for private pay.

Payer	Pickup window	Wait after pickup time (home / facility)	Steps before leaving	Where and when to record	Late cancellation cutoff	Paid for a no-show?
Private pay (our rule)

Part 3: Terms used in this policy

Term	What it means here
Scheduled pickup time	The pickup time on the trip. Every wait counts from this time.
Pickup window	The range the payer counts as on time, such as 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after the pickup time.
Rider no-show	The driver arrived on time and waited the full wait, and the rider was not there or would not board.
Cancel at the door	The rider cancels after the driver arrives. We handle it as a rider no-show.
Late cancellation	The rider cancels after the cutoff in Part 2, before the driver arrives.
Provider no-show	Our vehicle did not arrive for a scheduled pickup or return.
Will-call return	A return ride the rider calls for when the visit ends.

Part 4: The day before the ride

1. The dispatcher confirms each ride with the rider, or the facility, by phone or text.
2. The dispatcher writes down the result: confirmed, canceled, or no answer.
3. If a Medicaid rider will not go, the dispatcher asks the rider to cancel with the broker. If the rider has not canceled by the pickup time, the dispatcher cancels in the broker’s portal.
4. If a private-pay rider cancels, the dispatcher writes down the time. The late cancellation fee in Part 8 applies after the cutoff.
5. Riders flagged for repeat no-shows get a second confirmation the morning of the ride.

Part 5: At the pickup

1. Arrive inside the pickup window. The rider does not have to board before the scheduled pickup time.
2. Mark “arrived” in the driver app, so the arrival time is recorded.
3. Make your arrival known at the door, the lobby, or the front desk.
4. Start the wait at the scheduled pickup time, or at your arrival if you got there late. Wait the full time in Part 2.
5. Call or text the rider when the wait starts. In a message, give only your company name, that the ride is here, and a callback number. Leave out where the rider is going.
6. At a clinic, hospital, or nursing home, ask the staff whether the rider is still inside.
7. Call or text the rider again before the wait ends.
8. When the wait ends, call dispatch. Do not leave until dispatch says so.
9. Dispatch tries the rider once more, and tells the broker when the payer requires it.
10. Leave, then fill in Part 6 before the next pickup.

Part 6: No-show record (one per no-show)

Field	Entry
Date
Trip or confirmation number
Rider name
Payer
Pickup place (home or facility)
Scheduled pickup time
Arrival time (GPS or app)
How arrival was made known (door, lobby, desk)
First call or text: time and result
Second call or text: time and result
Facility staff spoken to, if any
Dispatcher who approved leaving, and time
Departure time (GPS or app)
Broker or payer told: how, when, reference number
Driver name and signature

Part 7: Medicaid and broker riders

1. We never charge a Medicaid rider for a no-show, a late cancellation, or waiting. We never ask a Medicaid rider for payment.
2. We never offer a rider money, gifts, or free rides to book with us or to show up.
3. We report every no-show to the broker as Part 2 says, even when the broker does not pay for it.
4. We never refuse or drop a Medicaid rider on our own. We report repeat no-shows to the broker and follow its decision.
5. Will-call returns follow the broker’s timing. If the rider is not at the pickup when we arrive, the driver follows Part 5.

Part 8: Private-pay and facility fees

Event	Our fee	When it applies
Late cancellation		Canceled after the cutoff in Part 2
Rider no-show		After the full wait and every step in Part 5
Cancel at the door		After the driver arrives
Extra waiting		For each block of time past the wait in Part 2 (write the block length here)
Prepayment		Required after this many no-shows in this many days (write both numbers here)

Rider or facility name	Signature	Date	Payment method on file (yes or no)

Part 9: When we miss a ride

1. If we cannot run a trip, dispatch hands it back to the broker as early as the contract allows.
2. A driver who is running late calls dispatch at once. Dispatch tells the rider, the facility, and the broker.
3. Each provider no-show gets a written note: the cause, any harm to the rider, whether the visit was rescheduled, and what we changed.
4. The policy owner reviews provider no-shows every month.

Part 10: Staff sign-off

Name	Role	Date trained	Signature

Wait times and steps by program

Your broker agreement sets the rule you follow. These are the written rules in several programs, with their dates. Copy the ones that apply to you into Part 2.

Program	How long the driver waits	Before leaving	Rule and date
New York Medicaid	At least 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup time	Document every no-show	Transportation Policy Manual, effective August 25, 2023
Texas Medicaid health plans	At least 10 minutes after the scheduled pickup or return time	Tell the rider the ride has arrived, and document every cancellation and no-show	Uniform Managed Care Manual 16.4, version 2.0.1, effective August 1, 2021
Georgia Medicaid	No duty to wait more than 10 minutes after the scheduled pickup time	Arrive on time, since the broker pays for a no-show’s first leg only then	NEMT Policies and Procedures, version dated July 1, 2026
MTM Health, Rhode Island	No duty to wait more than 10 minutes after the scheduled pickup time	Tell the rider by call or text that you are outside or leaving, and enter the no-show in the MTM Link Driver app	Provider handbook, updated July 1, 2026
MTM Health, Virginia	No set wait. A rider not ready by the end of the pickup window, 15 minutes after the pickup time, can be marked a no-show	Follow MTM’s no-show steps, and try the rider by phone or text	Provider handbook, approved August 10, 2026
CareOregon	At least 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup time	Try to reach the rider, and tell dispatch before leaving	Transportation Provider Manual, version 1.3, February 2024
Modivcare, Oklahoma SoonerRide	Up to 15 minutes from the pickup time	Riders are asked to be ready 15 minutes early	SoonerRide facility page, September 2026
MediTrans, Louisiana	15 minutes at a home, 20 minutes at a facility	Call the rider’s number on file, call dispatch, and mark the no-show in the portal with a timestamp	Provider page, September 2026

A few details change how your drivers count. In Georgia, when the driver arrives early, the 10-minute wait starts at the scheduled pickup time. In Texas, a child who needs a car seat that is not there, or that the parent cannot install, means the trip is canceled and recorded as a member no-show. CareOregon lets the driver leave only after telling dispatch, and it says providers are not held accountable for member no-shows.

Louisiana’s manual (chapter 10, issued July 14, 2025) requires every broker’s policies to include a protocol for handling and documenting no-shows. For your state’s rules, see our state guides, including Georgia.

Who pays when a rider does not show

Expect no payment in most programs. CMS says federal Medicaid funds do not pay for transportation to a member who does not appear for the ride (SMD 23-006, September 28, 2023). States may build the cost of no-shows and empty miles into their rates instead.

Payer	What happens on a member no-show	Rule and date
MTM Health, Wisconsin	Not paid. Confirm the ride the day before, and cancel it in the portal if the member has not canceled by pickup time.	Wisconsin provider page, September 2026
Georgia Medicaid	The broker pays the first leg (the “A” leg) when the member fails to board in time, if you arrived on time	NEMT Policies and Procedures, July 1, 2026
Medi-Cal fee-for-service	A ground provider who responds but does not transport can bill a dry run, with modifier DS and then QN on the trip code, such as A0130 for a wheelchair van or T2005 for a stretcher van	Medi-Cal ground transportation manual, page updated August 2020
Private pay and facilities	Whatever your signed terms say	Part 8 of this policy

Provider no-shows are not paid either. CMS says no Medicaid service is delivered when the provider does not arrive. MTM Health’s standard agreement, in the January 1, 2023 version Pennsylvania posts, goes further. If a late pickup or drop-off makes the member miss the appointment, you can get a provider no-show penalty or no pay for the trip. For claims and codes, see billing for NEMT no-shows and how to bill NEMT brokers.

What you can and cannot charge

Medicaid riders. A Medicaid provider must accept the Medicaid payment as payment in full (42 CFR 447.15). CMS says states and providers may not charge a member for a no-show. New York’s manual says drivers and providers never ask a member for payment. MTM Health’s standard agreement says you look only to MTM for payment and may never bill its members, even if MTM does not pay you.

Gifts to riders. Do not offer riders rewards for showing up. New York’s manual says it is illegal to pay, or offer to pay, a Medicaid enrollee to use your services. Pay includes anything of value, such as free or discounted rides.

Private-pay riders. Your fees are a business choice. Put them in writing, have the rider sign before the first ride, and charge only what the paper says. See private pay NEMT for pricing and payments.

Facilities. Put the late cancellation and no-show terms in the facility contract itself. The facility transportation agreement has a place for them.

Repeat no-shows

CMS says states may not deny transportation because of no-shows or lateness, even when they happen often (SMD 23-006). It lets states add steps for riders with a pattern, such as:

• counseling the rider,
• requiring the rider to confirm the night before or the morning of, or the ride will not be provided,
• assigning one provider and requiring a confirmation shortly before each ride, or
• letting the rider arrange a ride the state pays back, as an option the rider can refuse.

CMS says states should send the rider a letter describing the efforts made before limiting rides in any way. States and brokers set their own steps:

• Georgia. After a member no-shows, is late, or cancels at the door on at least two occasions, the broker sends a warning letter by certified mail. After two warnings, it can deny service, and rides continue while the member appeals (manual version dated July 1, 2026).
• Oklahoma SoonerRide. A member with three no-shows in 90 days risks being moved to mileage reimbursement only (Modivcare facility page, September 2026).

Your job is the record. Log every no-show in Part 6 and report it to the broker. The broker decides what happens next.

Provider no-shows count against you

A provider no-show is a trip your vehicle never reached. Texas defines it as a provider failing to show up for a scheduled pickup or return. Brokers track your rate on their scorecards:

Broker	Provider no-show standard	Rule and date
MTM Health, Virginia	Under 0.25 percent of assigned trips	Provider handbook, approved August 10, 2026
MTM Health, Rhode Island	Under 0.29 percent for a green score	Provider handbook, updated July 1, 2026
MediTrans, Louisiana	Under 1 percent	Provider page, September 2026

Hand trips back early when you cannot run them. MTM Health’s Virginia handbook asks for turnbacks at least 24 hours before the scheduled pickup time. Its Rhode Island handbook asks for at least 24 hours before the appointment time and allows no turnbacks of same-day trips (both 2026). CareOregon asks for an incident report on each provider no-show, covering harm to the member and any retraining. It may excuse a miss caused by an accident, a vehicle problem, or unusual weather or traffic that slows all vehicles. For how scores lead to penalties, see NEMT broker scorecards.

Keeping records that hold up

A no-show record is a trip record. Keep it with the trip log for that day, for as long as your longest record rule. New York’s trip record has the driver attest that the trip was completed, or show that it was a no-show. For what else belongs in the file, see NEMT trip documentation.