New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 10 - HUMAN SERVICES › Chapter 66 - INDEPENDENT CLINIC SERVICES › Subchapter 2 - PROVISION OF SERVICES › Section 10:66-2.15 - Sterilization services

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) Sterilization
				is any medical procedure, treatment, or operation performed for the purpose of
				rendering an individual permanently incapable of reproducing.
1. The individual to be sterilized shall be
				at least 21 years of age at the time the sterilization consent form is signed
				by the individual to be sterilized.
2. The individual to be sterilized shall not
				be mentally incompetent or institutionalized.
i. A mentally incompetent individual is an
				individual who has been declared mentally incompetent by a Federal, State, or
				local court of competent jurisdiction for any purpose, unless the individual
				has been declared competent for purposes which include the ability to consent
				to sterilization.
ii. An
				institutionalized individual is an individual who is:
(1) Involuntarily confined or detained, under
				a civil or criminal statute, in a correctional or rehabilitative facility,
				including a mental hospital or other facility for the care and treatment of
				mental illness; or
(2) Confined,
				under a voluntary commitment, in a mental hospital or other facility for the
				care and treatment of mental illness.
3. The individual to be sterilized shall have
				voluntarily given informed consent in accordance with all the requirements
				prescribed in
				42 CFR 441.257
				through
				441.258.
4. At least 30 days, but not more than 180
				days, shall have passed between the date of informed consent and the date of
				the sterilization, except in the case of premature delivery or emergency
				abdominal surgery. An individual may consent to be sterilized at the time of
				premature delivery or emergency abdominal surgery, if at least 72 hours have
				passed since he or she gave informed consent for the sterilization.
i. In the case of premature delivery, the
				informed consent shall have been given at least 30 days before the expected
				date of delivery.
ii. If an
				individual desires to be sterilized at the time of delivery, the consent form
				should be signed by the individual no earlier than the fifth month of pregnancy
				to minimize the possibility of exceeding the 180 day limit.
5. Informed consent is considered
				to be given only if:
i. The person who
				obtained consent for the sterilization procedure offered to answer any
				questions the individual may have concerning the procedure, provided a copy of
				the consent form and provided, orally, all of the following information or
				advice to the individual to be sterilized:
(1) Advice that the individual is free to
				withhold or withdraw consent to the procedure at any time before the
				sterilization without affecting the right to future care or treatment and
				without loss or withdrawal of any Federally funded program benefits to which
				the individual might otherwise be entitled;
(2) A description of available alternative
				methods of family planning and birth control;
(3) Advice that the sterilization procedure
				is considered to be irreversible;
(4) A thorough explanation of the specific
				sterilization procedure to be performed;
(5) A full description of the discomforts and
				risks that may accompany or follow the performing of the procedure, including
				an explanation of type and possible effects of any anesthetic to be
				used;
(6) A full description of the
				benefits or advantages that may be expected as a result of the sterilization;
				and
(7) Advice that the
				sterilization shall not be performed for at least 30 days, except under the
				circumstances specified in (a)4 above;
ii. Suitable arrangements were made to insure
				that the information specified in (a)5i above was effectively communicated to
				any individual who is blind, deaf, or otherwise handicapped;
iii. An interpreter was provided if the
				individual to be sterilized did not understand the language used on the consent
				form or the language used by the person obtaining consent;
iv. The individual to be sterilized was
				permitted to have a witness of his or her choice present when consent was
				obtained;
v. The consent form
				requirements of
				42 CFR
				441.258 were met; and
vi. Any additional requirement of State or
				local law for obtaining consent, except a requirement for spousal consent, was
				followed.
6. Informed
				consent may not be obtained while the individual to be sterilized is:
i. In labor or childbirth;
ii. Seeking to obtain or obtaining
				termination of pregnancy services; or
iii. Under the influence of alcohol or other
				substances that affect the individual's state of awareness.
7. The consent form shall be an
				exact replica of the Federal form.
i. The
				consent form shall be signed and dated by the individual to be sterilized; the
				interpreter, if one was provided; the person who obtained the consent; and the
				physician who performed the sterilization procedure. A copy of the consent form
				shall be given to the individual.
ii. The Fiscal Agent Billing Supplement,
				N.J.A.C. 10:66-Appendix, contains additional information and instructions for
				the consent form's proper completion.
8. Claims for sterilization services are
				hard-copy restricted; electronic billing is not permitted.