048-17 Wyo. Code R. §§ 17-6 - Nursing Facility's Fiduciary Responsibilities

(a) Upon written authorization from the resident, or any individual designated pursuant to Section 4 of this Chapter, the nursing facility shall accept responsibility for:

(i) Receiving personal funds;

(ii) Depositing personal funds in the resident's trust account;

(iii) Safeguarding the resident's personal funds; and

(iv) Managing the resident's trust account, including accounting for all personal funds received by the nursing facility.

(b) Management. The nursing facility may perform the duties specified in this Chapter directly or through a bank, which is a federally or state chartered bank, savings and loan or credit union which is insured by an agency of the United States Government. The delegation of such duties to a bank shall not affect the nursing facility's ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the requirements of this Chapter are met.

(c) Interest. The nursing facility may deposit personal funds in a non-interest bearing account if such funds do not exceed fifty dollars ($50.00). Funds in excess of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be transferred to an interest bearing account within fifteen (15) days after the date a client's trust account exceeds fifty dollars ($50.00). All such interest shall accrue to the resident's trust account.

(d) Pooled funds. Resident trust accounts may be pooled. If the nursing facility uses a pooled account, it must:

(i) Maintain records adequate to clearly disclose the amount of each resident's trust account and each transaction involving such account;

(ii) Indicate on the account that the nursing facility does not have an ownership interest in the funds; and

(iii) Establish a written policy for the attribution of accrued interest among the pooled accounts. Interest may be prorated by:

(A) End of quarter balance;

(B) End of month balance;

(C) Daily balance; or

(D) Average daily balance.

(e) Record keeping requirements. The nursing facility shall maintain current, written records of each transaction involving each resident's trust account for which the nursing facility is responsible. The records shall include:

(i) The resident's name;

(ii) The name of the resident's representative;

(iii) The date of the resident's admission;

(iv) The date and amount of each deposit and withdrawal, the name of the person who accepted the withdrawn funds, the purpose for which funds were withdrawn, and the balance after each transaction;

(v) Receipts indicating the expenditure of the funds;

(vi) All accrued interest; and

(vii) If applicable, the date of discharge, the date the resident's trust account was closed and final disposition of the resident's trust account.

(f) Resident unable to manage funds. When a resident is not capable of managing personal funds for any reason, the nursing facility shall, in addition to the record-keeping required by subsection (e), maintain prenumbered voucher slips which:

(i) Indicate the item(s) purchased with the resident's personal funds; and

(ii) Contain two (2) signatures for each withdrawal, one (1) of which shall be that of a supervisory employee of the nursing facility. If the withdrawal is to reimburse another person for the expenditure of funds on behalf of the resident, that person's signature shall appear on the voucher.

(g) Quarterly reports. Within thirty (30) days after the end of each calendar quarter, the nursing facility shall issue a written accounting to each resident or resident representative for whom the facility maintains a resident trust account. The written accounting shall include:

(i) The balance at the beginning of the quarter;

(ii) Total deposits and withdrawals;

(iii) Interest earned;

(iv) The balance at the end of the quarter; and

(v) The location of the resident's trust account and the account's identification number.

(h) Access to resident trust accounts. The nursing facility shall provide access to resident trust accounts:

(i) For at least two (2) hours during normal business hours each working day; and

(ii) For a reasonable time on Saturdays and Sundays.

(i) Commingling of resident trust accounts. The nursing facility shall not commingle resident trust accounts with any of the nursing facility's funds. Each resident trust account shall state that the nursing facility has no ownership rights in the account and that the funds are held in trust.

(j) Return of personal funds. The nursing facility shall, upon written request by a resident or the person designated pursuant to subsection 4(d) of this Chapter:

(i) Return the balance of the resident's trust account to the requesting party within five (5) days after receipt of such request; and

(ii) Provide a written accounting, including all transactions from the date of the last quarterly report.

(k) Death of resident. Upon the death of a resident for whom the nursing facility is maintaining a resident trust account, the nursing facility shall:

(i) Provide the personal representative of the estate of the resident, or any other person entitled to distribution pursuant to W.S. § 2-4-101, et seq., with a full, written accounting of the resident's trust account within thirty (30) days after the date of the resident's death; or

(ii) If there is no person entitled to an accounting pursuant to paragraph (i), provide a full, written accounting of the resident's trust account to the person designated pursuant to subsection 4(d) of this Chapter or the resident's representative.

(iii) If the funds in a deceased resident's trust account are not claimed within six (6) months after the resident's death, the funds shall be handled according to the Wyoming Probate Code.

(l) Change of ownership. A nursing facility shall, within sixty (60) days before a change of ownership:

(i) Provide a written accounting of all resident trust accounts to the new owner; and

(ii) Provide a written accounting to each resident or resident representative of all transactions from the date of the last quarterly report and the balance in the account on the date of the accounting.

(iii) On or before the effective date of the change of ownership, the nursing facility shall surrender all resident trust accounts to the new ownership, obtain a written receipt for such funds, and otherwise comply with the provisions of the Rules and Regulations of Wyoming Medicaid, Chapter 7, Nursing Home Reimbursement System.

(iv) Failure to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall result in the nursing facility transferring ownership and the new ownership remaining jointly liable for all resident trust accounts entrusted to the nursing facility at or before the time of the change of ownership.

(m) Accounting principles. All accountings required by this Chapter shall be performed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Notes

048-17 Wyo. Code R. §§ 17-6