Sterilization Services: Introduction

(A) Covered Services. The MassHealth agency pays for a sterilization service provided to an eligible member only if all of the following conditions are met. (1) The member has voluntarily given informed consent for the sterilization procedure in the manner and at the time described in 130 CMR 433.457, and such consent is documented in the manner described in 130 CMR 433.458. (2) The member is at least 18 years old at the time consent is obtained. (3) The member is not a mentally incompetent individual or an institutionalized individual. (B) Assurance of Member Rights. A provider must not use any form of coercion in the provision of sterilization services. The MassHealth agency, any provider, or any agent or employee of a provider must not mislead any member into believing that a decision to have or not have a sterilization will adversely affect the member's entitlement to benefits or services for which the member would otherwise be eligible. The MassHealth agency has strict requirements for 4. Program Regulations confidentiality of member records for sterilization services as well as for all other medical services covered by MassHealth. (C) Retroactive Eligibility. The MassHealth agency does not pay for a sterilization performed during the period of a member's retroactive eligibility unless all conditions for payment listed in 130 CMR 433.456(A) are met. (D) Locations in Which Sterilizations May Be Performed. (1) Male sterilization must be performed by a licensed physician in a physician's office, hospital, or sterilization clinic. (2) Female sterilization must be performed by a licensed physician in a hospital, freestanding ambulatory surgery center, or sterilization clinic. (3) A hospital, freestanding ambulatory surgery center, or sterilization clinic in which a sterilization is performed must be licensed in compliance with Massachusetts Department of Public Health regulations at 105 CMR 130.000: Hospital Licensure or 140.000: Licensure of Clinics, as applicable.