42-6-102(a)(iii), which shall require that the home:

42-6-102(a)(iii), which shall require that the home:

(A) Maintains residences as units independent from other facilities such that there is no physical connection or shared roof structures between houses;

(B) Provides a secured exterior patio or garden with covered seating for each house accessible by all residents including those with wheelchairs and assistive devices;

(C) Provides for locked storage of hazardous materials and control of kitchen access during high traffic periods of meal preparation and clean-up;

(D) Provides a den in each house to accommodate television viewing and limited overnight guests;

(E) Implements a self-managed work team approach to in-house and clinical support staffing. Each house shall have its own core in-house staffing that is specific and dedicated to a single house;  (F) Uses a home base facility for the clinical support team members that is outside and separate from the house; and

(G) Maintains a lift free environment by providing ceiling lifts in each resident's bedroom and bathroom.

(v) Consider the extent to which there is a market for the proposed facility or the extent to which people in need of long term care are likely to choose the proposed facility; and

(vi) Consider the extent to which the proposed pilot project will determine the effectiveness of its approach to elder care in a timely manner.

(b) Each grant proposal shall include plans for a local or applicant match of twenty-five percent (25%) of the grant amount.

(c) For applicants that have completed any appropriate needs study or market study, the grant funding may be used for design and development of the facility and the organization which will operate it. If this is done, the grant recipient shall agree to accept Medicaid clients in the facility without discrimination.

(d) The department is directed to work with grant recipients in the development of rules and regulations which are compatible with the culture of the homes and which will assure appropriate licensure for the care provided and the needs of the elder residents. The department shall inform the joint labor, health and social services interim committee if legislation is needed to authorize any necessary rules and regulations.

(e) As a condition of receiving the grants, each grantee shall agree to provide training and reports to other parties in the state interested in innovative long term care approaches.

42-6-105. Adult foster care homes; licensure; suspension or revocation.

(a) The department may initiate and license an adult foster care pilot project subject to the following:  (i) The applicant shall pay a one-time fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) which shall be deposited in the general fund;

(ii) The department, a public health nurse or other employee of a local department of health shall complete an inspection of the proposed adult foster care home;

(iii) The proposed home shall comply with all state and local building, sanitation, utility, fire and zoning codes applicable to single family dwellings;

(iv) Repealed by Laws 2015, ch. 176, § 2.

(v) Repealed by Laws 2015, ch. 176, § 2.

(vi) The pilot program shall consist of no more than ten (10) adult foster care homes. At least three (3) of the homes shall be in counties with a population of thirty thousand (30,000) or less.

(b) The department may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, revoke or suspend any license issued pursuant to this section, may prohibit a facility from accepting new resident clients, may place conditions on the continuation of a license, or may require a facility to take specified remedial actions within a specified time, if:

(i) There is a threat to the health, safety or welfare of any resident client;

(ii) There is credible evidence of abuse, neglect or exploitation of any resident client;

(iii) The facility is not operated in compliance with this act or any rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this act.

(c) If, in the professional judgment of the state health officer, there is a clear and present threat to the health or safety of a resident client, the state health officer may close an adult foster care home and transfer the residents to another place. The department shall also initiate proceedings pursuant to subsection (b) of this section within three (3) working days.

(d) The department shall complete a criminal records check on any individual employed by adult foster care homes and on any individual, other than a resident client or a resident client's spouse, who at the time of licensure is expected to live in the adult foster care home or who, after licensure, lives or comes to live in the adult foster care home. The department may refuse to license a facility or prohibit the individual from living in the facility if he has been convicted of a felony indicating he may abuse a resident or steal from a resident.

(e) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations consistent with this act to govern the pilot project.

(f) Repealed by Laws 2015, ch. 59, § 2.

42-6-106. Home and community based waiver program expanded; requirements.

(a) Repealed By Laws 2013, Ch. 117, § 2.

(b) The department is authorized to increase the provider reimbursement levels by an amount up to three dollars ($3.00) per hour for hourly services or seventeen and six-tenths percent (17.6%) above the prevailing rate for nonhourly services as of December 1, 2006. The department shall report to the joint labor, health and social services interim committee by November 1, 2007 the extent to which reimbursement improvements and any other changes made have improved the availability of home health care services and any additional remedies that may be needed. The length of the report shall not exceed one thousand (1,000) words plus any appropriate charts and graphs. Additional reports may be made from time to time as the need arises.

(c) The department shall set goals for expanding the number of Medicaid home and community based clients in self directed budget options and shall report progress toward those goals to the joint labor, health and social services interim committee no later than November 1, 2007, November 1, 2008 and November 1, 2009. The department shall allow these options to be managed by persons designated to do so in advanced health care directives.

(d) Consistent with approved budgets, the department shall make available a pool of state funds to meet transitional needs of clients moving from a more restrictive to a less restrictive environment in circumstances where Medicaid funds are not available due to federal restrictions. If sufficient funds are available, these state funds may also be used to meet short term needs of clients seeking to avoid placements in more restrictive environments. The department shall govern the expenditure of these funds though contracts, policies and rules and regulations as needed.

42-6-107. Assisted living expansion; reimbursement increase.

The department shall seek federal approval to increase the number of allowed slots in the assisted living Medicaid waiver from one hundred forty-six (146) to one hundred sixty-eight (168) slots.

42-6-108. Adult day care.

The department shall investigate adult day care providers in Wyoming with respect to access, rates, administration of rules and regulations and their impact on providers and clients, and shall report its findings to the joint labor, health and social services interim committee and to the advisory council on aging. The report shall not exceed two thousand (2,000) words in length plus appropriate charts and graphs.

42-6-109. Aging and disability resource centers.

(a) The department is authorized, using competitive grants and contracts, to fund a statewide network of aging and disability resource centers.

(b) Locations of the aging and disability resource centers shall be determined by the department of health, aging division. In selecting locations for aging and disability resource centers, the department of health, aging division, shall require a degree of local community funding, which may include in kind contributions, for a center.

(c) The purpose of each center shall be to create a single, coordinated system of information and assistance for all persons seeking long term support. Each center shall assist eligible persons in making informed decisions about health care access and long term care service and support options and shall serve as a referral agency to the long term care support system. Centers shall provide information and assistance to individuals needing either public or private resources, professionals seeking assistance on behalf of their clients and individuals planning for their future long term care needs.

(d) Repealed by Laws 2015, ch. 59, § 2.  CHAPTER 7 - LONG-TERM CARE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

42-7-101. Short title.

This act may be cited as the "Wyoming Long-Term Care Partnership Program Act.

42-7-102. Definitions.

(a) As used in this act:

(i) "Agency" means the department of health;

(ii) "Asset disregard" means, with respect to qualification for state Medicaid benefits, the disregard of any assets or resources in an amount equal to the insurance benefit payments that are made to or on behalf of an individual who is a beneficiary under a qualified long-term care insurance partnership policy;

(iii) "Department" means the department of insurance;

(iv) "Medicaid" means the program administered by the state pursuant to the Wyoming Medical Assistance and Services Act and this act and partly funded by the federal government pursuant to title XIX of the federal Social Security Act;

(v) "Qualified long-term care insurance partnership policy" means a policy that meets all of the following requirements:

(A) The policy covers an insured who was a resident of Wyoming when coverage first became effective under the policy;

(B) The policy is a qualified long-term care insurance policy as defined in section 7702B(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 issued not earlier than the effective date of the state plan amendment;

(C) The director of the department certifies that the policy meets the model regulations and requirements of the national association of insurance commissioners model specified in paragraph (5) of title VI, section 6021 of the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005; and  (D) If the policy is sold to an individual who:

(I) Has not attained age sixty-one (61) as of the date of purchase, the policy provides compound annual inflation protection;

(II) Has attained age sixty-one (61) but has not attained age seventy-six (76) as of such date, the policy provides some level of inflation protection; or

(III) Has attained age seventy-six (76) as of such date, the policy may, but is not required to, provide some level of inflation protection.

(vi) "State plan amendment" means a state Medicaid plan amendment made with the approval of the federal department of health and human services that provides for the disregard of any assets or resources in an amount equal to the insurance benefit payments that are made to or on behalf of an individual who is a beneficiary under a qualified long-term care insurance partnership policy.

42-7-103. Wyoming long-term care partnership program established.

(a) In accordance with title VI, section 6021 of the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, there shall be established the Wyoming long-term care partnership program, to be administered by the agency with the assistance of the department, to provide incentives for individuals to insure against the costs of providing for their long-term care needs by creating a mechanism for individuals to qualify for coverage of the cost of their long-term care needs under Medicaid without first being required to substantially exhaust their resources.

(b) The agency shall:

(i) Before January 1, 2010, or as soon thereafter as possible, make application to the federal department of health and human services for a state plan amendment to establish that, if an individual is a beneficiary of a long-term care partnership program certified policy, the total assets an individual owns and may retain under Medicaid and still qualify for benefits under Medicaid at the time the individual applies for long-term care benefits are increased by one dollar ($1.00) for each one dollar ($1.00) of benefit paid out under the individual's long-term care partnership program certified insurance policy;

(ii) Provide information and technical assistance to the department on the department's role in assuring that any individual who sells a qualified long-term care insurance partnership policy receives training and demonstrates evidence of an understanding of such policies and how they relate to other public and private coverage of long-term care.

(c) The department may not impose any requirement affecting the terms of benefits of a policy under the partnership program unless the department imposes such requirement on long-term care insurance policies without regard to whether the policy is covered under the partnership or is offered in connection with such a partnership.

(d) The issuers of qualified long-term care partnership policies in Wyoming shall provide regular reports to the secretary of the federal department of health and human services, in accordance with federal regulations.

(e) Reciprocity between the program and other state programs shall be subject to the following:

(i) Any individual who has purchased a partnership policy in any participating state, who has received benefits under the policy and who applies for Medicaid in a participating state other than the one in which the policy was issued shall receive an asset disregard in an equal dollar amount to the benefits received under the policy;

(ii) The asset disregard procedure and calculation shall be the same for every individual with a partnership policy who applies for Medicaid in the participating state, without regard to whether the policy was purchased in another state or the date the policy was purchased;

(iii) An amount equal to the benefits received under the partnership policy shall be exempt from Medicaid estate recovery provisions; and

(iv) If a person moves from the state in which the person's partnership policy was issued, later applies for Medicaid in another participating state and is determined to be eligible using a partnership asset disregard, the partnership asset disregard shall not be revoked upon eligibility redetermination should the state subsequently decide to become exempt from the reciprocity agreement.

42-7-104. Administration.

(a) The agency and the department are authorized to adopt rules to implement and administer the provisions of this act.

(b) The agency and department shall comply with all federal rules developed in accordance with title VI, section 6021 of the federal Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, regarding data reporting, reciprocity with other states that develop long- term care insurance partnership programs, and any other matters, and shall have the authority to adopt regulations relative to the provisions of any federal rules and their administration.

CHAPTER 8 - NURSING CARE FACILITY ASSESSMENT ACT

42-8-101. Short title.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Wyoming Nursing Care Facility Assessment Act."

42-8-102. Definitions.

(a) As used in this article:

(i) "Account" means the nursing care facility assessment account created under W.S. 42-8-103;

(ii) "Department" means the department of health;

(iii) "Fiscal year" means the twelve (12) month period beginning October 1 and ending September 30;

(iv) "Medicaid" means as defined in W.S.