Hysterectomy Services

(A) Nonpayable Services. The MassHealth agency does not pay for a hysterectomy provided to a member under the following conditions. (1) The hysterectomy was performed solely for the purpose of sterilizing the member. (2) If there was more than one purpose for the procedure, the hysterectomy would not have been performed but for the purpose of sterilizing the member. (B) Hysterectomy Information Form. The MassHealth agency pays for a hysterectomy only when performed by a licensed physician in a hospital, and the appropriate section of the Hysterectomy Information (HI-1) form is completed, signed, and dated as specified in 130 CMR 405.424(B)(1) through (4). (1) Prior Acknowledgment. Except under the circumstances specified below, the member and their representative, if any, must be informed orally and in writing before the hysterectomy operation that the hysterectomy will make them permanently incapable of reproducing. (Delivery in hand of the HI-1 form will fulfill the written requirement, but not the oral requirement.) Section (B) of the HI-1 form must be signed and dated by the member or their representative before the operation is performed, as acknowledgment of receipt of this information. Whenever any surgery that includes the possibility of a hysterectomy is scheduled, the member must be informed of the consequences of a hysterectomy, and must sign and date section (B) of the HI-1 form before surgery. (2) Prior Sterility. If the member is sterile prior to the hysterectomy operation, the physician who performs the operation must so certify, describe the cause of sterility, and sign and date section (C)(1) of the HI-1 form. (3) Emergency Surgery. If the hysterectomy is performed in an emergency, under circumstances that immediately threaten the member's life, and if the physician determines that obtaining the member's prior acknowledgment is not possible, the physician who performs the hysterectomy must so certify, describe the nature of the emergency, and sign and date section (C)(2) of the HI-1 form. (4) Retroactive Eligibility. If the hysterectomy was performed during the period of a member's retroactive eligibility, the physician who performed the hysterectomy must certify that one of the following circumstances existed at the time of the operation: (a) the member was informed before the operation that the hysterectomy would make them sterile (the physician must sign and date section (D)(1) of the HI-1 form); (b) the member was sterile before the hysterectomy was performed (the physician must sign, date, and describe the cause of sterility in section (D)(2) of the HI-1 form); or (c) the hysterectomy was performed in an emergency that immediately threatened the member’s life and the physician determined that it was not possible to obtain their prior acknowledgment (the physician must sign, date, and describe the nature of the emergency in section (D)(3) of the HI-1 form). (C) Submission of the Hysterectomy Information Form. Each provider must attach a copy of the completed HI-1 form to each claim form submitted to the MassHealth agency for hysterectomy services. When more than one provider is billing the MassHealth agency for the same hysterectomy, each provider must submit a copy of the completed HI-1 form. (130 CMR 405.425 Reserved)