(c) The department shall develop and implement a uniform sliding fee schedule for women provided perinatal care through the perinatal services program. The fee schedule shall be based on family size and income, but in no case shall the fee exceed the actual cost of the services provided. The department shall not implement any schedule developed pursuant to this section sooner than 30 days after the department has provided the chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairperson of the fiscal committee of each house with the developed schedule. All free clinics, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1204 shall be exempt from this subdivision.
All organizations funded under the Public Health Service Act, Sections 254b and 254c of Title 42 of the United States Code, shall be permitted to utilize those sliding fee scales mandated by federal law or regulation in lieu of the sliding fee scale adopted by the department.