(a) Each private pay-only nursing facility shall:

1. (1) Provide each month direct care services by direct care staff equivalent to at least three and thirty-six hundredths (3.36) average direct care hours per resident day; and
2. (2) On or before the fifteenth day of each month, report electronically to the department the facility's actual average direct care hours per resident day for the prior month.

(b)

1. (1) In determining and reporting direct care hours as required:

   1. (A)

(i) A private pay-only facility shall follow the same or substantially comparable process required of certified nursing facilities under 20 CAR § 400-1404.

1. (ii) The process is the same, except a private pay-only facility would not formally submit data to the federal direct care data system; and

   1. (B) Unless the department approves an alternative, the private pay-only facility shall:

      1. (i) Use the same or substantially comparable payroll and time tracking system capabilities or software that certified nursing facilities use to support reporting to the federal direct care data system and preparation of monthly reports under 20 CAR § 400-1404;
      2. (ii) Produce and provide to the department quarterly direct care staffing reports consistent with the detailed quarterly reports that certified nursing facilities are required to submit to the federal direct care data system; and
      3. (iii) Report direct care staffing hours to the federal direct care data system when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services subsequently permits noncertified licensed nursing facilities to use the system.

2. (2) A process or system is substantially comparable if it records the same data or information and has the same capabilities or software as the federal reporting system.

   1. (c) The department may audit these monthly reports and request documentation from the private pay-only facility to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section.