(a) The Commissioner of Public Health, in consultation with the Department of Social Services, may contract, within available appropriations, to provide a subsidized nongroup health insurance product for pregnant women who are not eligible for Medicaid and have incomes under two hundred fifty per cent of the federal poverty level. The product shall be available to such pregnant women (1) for whom employer-based insurance is not available or (2) who have employer-based insurance (A) to cover the cost of the premiums, copayments and deductibles of the employer-based plan provided the cost of the employer-based plan is less than the nongroup product and (B) to provide coverage for benefits not covered by the employer-based plan which are covered under the subsidized nongroup product. The Department of Public Health may make such product available to limited populations, as pilot programs, initially to test the impact of program design and administration. The Department of Social Services shall assist in the administration of the programs. The contract may include, but not be limited to, provisions for coinsurance and copayment and a sliding scale based on income for premiums and shall provide for the use of mechanisms to control costs.

(b) The contract for pregnant women shall include coverage for: (1) Physician visits for diagnosis and treatment; (2) prenatal and postnatal care; and (3) outpatient hospital care; and may include coverage for: (A) Labor and delivery; (B) laboratory and diagnostic tests; (C) prescription drugs; (D) physical therapy; (E) mental health and substance abuse visits; and (F) inpatient care, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, subject to eighty per cent coinsurance on the first two thousand five hundred dollars of expenses.

(c) The commissioner shall establish an outreach program to ensure that eligible persons are aware of the health insurance available pursuant to this section.

(d) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, for purposes of this section.