Committee advances bill to repeal Wyoming nursing home 'certificate of need' with amended effective date

House Bill 289, a measure to repeal Wyoming’s Certificate of Need requirements for long-term care facilities, moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 5-0 voice/roll call after the committee adopted an amendment changing the effective date to July 1, 2025.

The bill was presented by Representative Rob Geringer, who said the repeal would remove “outdated government restrictions” and allow nursing homes and long-term care providers to expand capacity more easily as Wyoming’s population ages. “This repeal will increase access to care by making it easier to expand facilities and add nursing home beds,” Representative Geringer said.

Committee members heard technical and data-oriented testimony from Stefan Johansen, director of the Wyoming Department of Health, who described how the department enforces the state Certificate of Need program through its Office of Healthcare Licensing and Surveys. Johansen told the committee that, since February 2009, the department received 18 requests for new nursing facility construction: 11 were approved…