The definition of a Nursing Care Facility is a an institution which is a skilled nursing facility (SNF) or a nursing facility (NF) which is currently licensed and meets the requirements of the rules and regulations.

A valid state license is required prior to providing care to any client/patient/resident.

Following are the requirements and procedures through which your agency may be approved to be licensed as a provider of Nursing Care Facility services. 

Click below for a license application for State licensure.  Please fill out the application in its entirety and submit to our office, along with the required fee.  A list of required paperwork which must be sent to this office for review and approval before your agency can receive a State license is available below (Nursing Care Facility Licensure Checklist).  After reviewing the regulations, please contact one of our engineers at (307) 777-7123 to discuss the building requirements and any construction review approval process.  Once we have approved these items, a provisional license will be issued, and you will be able to start providing services to clients/patients/residents.

When you have clients/patients/residents for which you are providing services, your agency must request, in writing, that a survey be conducted.  An unannounced survey will be provided by state surveyors as soon as scheduling permits.  When the initial survey has been completed and the facility is found to be in compliance with the regulations, a permanent license will be issued.

A license permits an applicant to operate a healthcare facility in Wyoming.  It does not enroll or certify a provider or supplier of healthcare services to participate in federal certification programs (Medicare/Medicaid). 

Nursing Care Facility License Application
      Please note:  This license application is provided in MS Word format.  If you experience problems opening the license application or want to request that the application be e-mailed to you in PDF format, please contact us by e-mail or by telephone: (307) 777-7123.

Nursing Care Facility Licensure Checklist
      Word Format    PDF Format

Nursing Care Facility Rules and Regulations
      Chapter 19 (Licensure) - 06-26-2000
      Chapter 11 (Program Administration) - 06-26-2000

Healthcare Facility Construction Rules and Regulations
      Chapter 3 - 04-03-2008
      Chapter 3 Guidelines:  Word Format    PDF Format

Nursing Care Facility – Federal Certification Information

Important notes:

1.  Effective September 1, 2008: Revisions to Appendix PP - "Interpretive Guidelines for Long-Term Care Facilities," become effective.  Summary of changes:  This instruction deletes Tag F326 and incorporates the guidance into Tag F325.  It also deletes Tag F370 and incorporates that guidance into F371.  Link to S&C Letter 08-28.

2.  Effective March 31, 2009: Issuance of Revised Quality of Care Guidance at F309, including Pain Management as Part of Appendix PP, State Operations Manual, Additional Minor Changes Made to Appendices P and PP.  Link to S&C Letter 09-22.

3.  Effective September 30, 2009: Revisions to Appendix PP–Tag F441.


Following are the requirements and procedures through which your agency may be approved to participate in Medicare as a provider of Skilled Nursing Care Facility services. The Office of Healthcare Licensing and Surveys (OHLS) certifies and periodically recertifies providers of services to assure Medicare Conditions of Participation are met. This assists the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in determining if agencies can participate in Medicare. Such approval is prerequisite to qualifying to participate in the state Medicaid program as well.

You are subject to complete an HCFA-855A or HCFA-855B. The HCFA-855A is the Medicare Federal Health Care Provider/Supplier Application for Health Care Providers that will bill Medicare Fiscal Intermediaries, and the HCFA-855B is the Medicare Federal Health Care Provider/Supplier Application for Health Care Suppliers that will bill Medicare Carriers.

It is your responsibility to contact the appropriate fiscal intermediary (FI) or carrier (see link below) for the appropriate enrollment application. Please be aware your FI of preference does not automatically guarantee you will be assigned to that FI. Questions regarding this enrollment application must be directed to the FI or carrier. Once you have received and completed this enrollment application form, you must submit it directly to the FI or carrier. Our office will be notified by the FI or carrier of their review and recommendations to CMS with regard to your application. Until such time the state agency will not perform the federal survey.

Below this narrative are links to the survey and certification forms which are necessary to complete if you desire to participate. Please complete and submit them promptly to OHLS in order to avoid unnecessarily delaying approval, since your facility cannot claim provider reimbursement for services furnished prior to approval. If the forms are not self-explanatory, you may telephone (307) 777-7123 for assistance. Complete and return all copies of the forms. Please note that there are three (3) Health Insurance Benefits Agreements; please submit three (3) signed originals.

On the second line of the Health Insurance Benefits Agreement after the term “Social Security Act,” enter the entrepreneurial name of the enterprise, followed by the trade name (if different from the entrepreneurial name). Ordinarily, this is the same as the business name used on all official IRS correspondence concerning payroll withholding taxes, such as the W-3 or 941 forms. For example, the ABC Corporation, owner of the Community General Hospital, would enter on the agreement, AABC Corporation d/b/a Community General Hospital. A partnership of several persons might complete the agreement to read: Robert Johnson, Louis Miller, and Paul Allen, ptr., Easy Care Home Health Services. A sole proprietorship could complete the agreement to read: John Smith d/b/a Mercy Hospital. The person signing the Health Insurance Benefits Agreement must be someone who has the authorization of the owners of the enterprise to enter into this agreement.

Please contact this office and speak with one of our engineers to find out about any environment and/or life safety code issues. When you feel ready to participate, you must write to this office requesting a survey. We will schedule an initial survey after receipt of the fiscal intermediary’s approval of your 855 Enrollment Application. 

Our surveyors will inspect the agency, interview you and members of your staff, review documents, and undertake other procedures necessary to evaluate the extent to which your agency meets the Conditions of Participation. If your agency has significant deficiencies in any of the Conditions, you will be informed and given an opportunity to correct them.

After we have completed the survey of your facility, we will forward, with our recommendation, all documentation pertaining to your application to participate in the Medicare program to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Division of Health Standards and Quality, Regional Office in Denver, Colorado. They will review the documents, determine the effective date of your participation in the Medicare program, and will send you official notification. Until you receive such notification, Medicare certification is not official. Reimbursement cannot be made for services provided to Medicare beneficiaries prior to the effective date of participation.

After it is determined by CMS that all requirements are met, the Health Insurance Benefits Agreement will be countersigned. One copy will be returned to you along with the notification that your agency has been approved. If operation of the entire agency is later transferred to another owner, ownership group, or to a lessee, the agreement will automatically be assigned to the successor. You are required to notify OHLS and CMS at the time you are planning such a transfer.

Those institutions and agencies that are denied approval to participate in the Medicare program are sent notification giving the reasons for the denial and information about their rights to appeal the decision.

It is to your benefit to read the Skilled Nursing Care Facility Interpretive Guidelines and Conditions of Participation very carefully. You must meet the minimum guideline qualifications to be eligible to participate. Please do not hesitate to telephone this office if you have any questions.

Be advised, Nursing Care Facilities are also required to be licensed by the State of Wyoming

Federal Certification Forms and Regulations:

      Interpretive Guidelines (Regulations) - Appendix PP 

      Fiscal Intermediaries
         
      Provider/Supplier Enrollment Forms and List (855 Application, etc.)  

      Health Insurance Benefit Agreement Form (CMS-1561) – 3 originals required 

      Long Term Care Facility Application for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS-671)

      Resident Census and Conditions of Residents (CMS-672)

      Office of Civil Rights

Notice re the Office of Civil Rights Packet:  Do not send OCR Pre-Grant Clearance paperwork directly to Office of Civil Rights, or to the CMS Regional Office. It must be sent to the Wyoming Office of Healthcare Licensing and Surveys so it can be included in the initial or Change of Ownership (CHOW) certification kit. The CMS Regional Office cannot process initials or CHOWs for providers until they have the OCR Pre-Grant Clearance paperwork, along with the other documentation, from the Office of Healthcare Licensing and Surveys.