Provider Information

Becoming a WA Cares provider

Process

1 Apply (must meet minimum qualifications)

2 Contract with DSHS or AAAs

3 DSHS issues your registration

Depending on the service and location, the Department of Social and Health Services or an Area Agency on Aging may be responsible for processing your application and contracting with you, including ongoing monitoring.

DSHS is always responsible for managing the registration process, updating or discontinuing your registration if your contract is terminated or ends and maintaining the WA Cares Provider Directory that beneficiaries will use to find you.

Covered services

If you offer any service statewide, DSHS will process your application and manage your contract regardless of the service type.

DSHS is also responsible for all applications and contracting for these services:

Adaptive equipment and technology
Adult family home services, including respite care
Assisted living facility, including respite care
Care transition coordination
In-home personal care and respite from individual providers (including paid family caregivers)
Memory care
Nursing home, including respite care
Professional nursing services, specifically nurse delegation and private duty nursing

If you offer these services, the local AAA for your service area will process your application and manage your contract:

Adult day services, including adult day care and adult day health
Dementia and behavioral support
Education and consultation
Environmental modification
Home-delivered meals
Home safety evaluations
In-home personal care and respite with home care agencies
Personal emergency response system (PERS)
Professional nursing services, specifically skilled nursing
Services that assist paid and unpaid caregivers, specifically
- Housework and errands
- Yardwork and snow removal
Transportation

APPLICATION

You can apply starting Oct. 1, 2025. All applications will be submitted through an online form. We will provide contact information you can use to request help with your application.

senior writing with a sharpie marker pen on lined notebook paper

Requirements for registration

To provide services through WA Cares, you must:

Comply with all applicable statutes and rules (federal, state, local)
Comply with background check requirements
Meet minimum qualifications (must hold all current licenses, credentials, certifications, trainings, and other requirements for your service type)
Meet insurance requirements
Not have a contract terminated with DSHS for cause or default

Review the provider application detail document for the service you want to offer to learn about the service definition, minimum qualifications and the documentation you need to apply. It will also include an example of a client service contract, including insurance requirements and payment terms.

You can request a waiver to a qualification during the application process. DSHS makes all decisions on waivers and communicates the decision in your application determination. Waivers are not available for all services or all qualifications.

Individual providers

If you want to provide in-home personal care (including respite) but don’t work for a business, you can apply to be an individual provider and be paid through Consumer Direct Care Network Washington. Most paid family caregivers will become individual providers.

You will not follow the same application process as other WA Cares providers. Consumer Direct Care Network Washington will process your application, hire you, provide your training and pay you for the hours you work.

Any individual provider employed by Consumer Direct Care Network Washington will be able to provide care for WA Cares beneficiaries.

Processing your application

When you submit your application, it will be routed to the appropriate agency depending on the service and location. We may need additional information to process your application. To prevent your application from being withdrawn, you must provide the information within 30 calendar days of the first request.

You can withdraw your application at any time during the process. If your application is approved, you will proceed to contracting.

Denied applications

If your application is denied, you will receive information on your administrative hearing rights along with the determination notice on your application.

You may be able to reapply in the future depending on the reason your application was denied. Permanent disqualifiers that prevent you from reapplying for registration include failed background checks with barred offenses or substantiated findings, and contracts terminated for cause.

If there are no permanent disqualifiers, you can reapply when the issues causing the denial have been corrected or updated.

Contracting

Once your application is approved, the contracting team at DSHS or the AAA will send you a new client service contract for signature.

Your contract will last either two or four years depending on your service type. For services where a four-year contract is standard, you can choose to sign a two-year contract instead. You cannot extend a contract beyond the standard length for your service type. At the end of your contract term, you will have the option to renew it or allow it to end.

You must have a valid contract to be a registered provider. If your contract is terminated or ends, your registration will also end.

Registration

Your directory listing

WA Cares does not have case managers. Beneficiaries are responsible for finding registered providers who offer the services they want and contacting you directly.

Once you have a contract in place, your information will be added to the online WA Cares Provider Directory. Your listing in the directory will include:

Your name
The service(s) you provide
Your contact information
Any additional languages you offer to beneficiaries who use your services

The directory is hosted by Community Living Connections and will be the primary way beneficiaries will find you.

Discontinued registration

Your registration will be discontinued if your contract is terminated or ends. You will receive information on your administrative hearing rights with the notification that your registration will be discontinued.

Depending on the reason your registration was discontinued, you may be able to reapply in the future after correcting the issue. If you have a contract with DSHS terminated for cause or default, your registration will be discontinued and you will not be able to reapply.

Rates and payment

Rates

WA Cares will pay within your usual, customary and reasonable rate range up to the published maximum rate. You will be asked to submit your rate sheet during the application process. Beneficiaries can choose a provider based on the rate they’re willing to pay.

DSHS determines maximum rates for each service, which are published in administrative rules. More information will be added when rulemaking is complete. In the meantime, you can check our rulemaking page for status and draft rules, or subscribe for email updates and select DSHS rulemaking.

ProviderOne enrollment

You will complete pre-authorizations for services and submit claims for payment through the Health Care Authority’s ProviderOne system. After your contract is completed, you will receive a ProviderOne enrollment packet. If you already have a ProviderOne account, you do not need to enroll again.

Pre-authorizations

To establish services with a beneficiary, you will need to create a pre-authorization in ProviderOne. You and the beneficiary must discuss and agree on the services being provided and accompanying rates before you create a pre-authorization.

Once you draft this pre-authorization in ProviderOne, the beneficiary will receive a notification in their WA Cares online account for approval. You will not have access to beneficiary accounts.

You cannot begin providing or billing for services until after the pre-authorization is approved by the beneficiary (or their legal decisionmaker). They have 30 calendar days to approve or deny the pre-authorization. If they don’t take any action, the pre-authorization request times out and you will need to submit a new pre-authorization.

Pre-authorizations can last for up to 90 days, except for:

Care transition coordination pre-authorizations can last for 60 days.
Environmental modification pre-authorizations can last for 6 months.

If a beneficiary wants to continue receiving your services for longer, you will need to submit a new pre-authorization for approval.

Claims for payment

You will have 60 calendar days from the end date of the pre-authorization to submit the clean claim in ProviderOne for processing. Claims submitted after this deadline will be denied and funds will return to beneficiary’s balance.