WIC RETAIL STORE ANNUAL TRAINING 2020 eWIC 1
WELCOME Training objectives Assure WIC authorized stores are educated in WIC Program regulations, policies, and procedures Improve WIC Program services for both customers and retail grocers Prevent program noncompliance Provide training & training materials to stores Make the eWIC transaction go as smoothly as possible 2 Note: The RSC’s will either have to mail or electronically send the handouts that they may use after they know the store had attended training. 2
AGENDA Overview of WIC WIC Food List eWIC L3 Certifications Customer Service Vendor Responsibilities with eWIC Sanctions Types of Compliance Monitoring Questions 3 3
WHAT IS WIC? No cost health and nutrition program for pregnant women, breastfeeding women, postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5. WIC Provides nutritious supplemental foods, nutrition education, and referrals to valuable health and social services. 4 WIC does not look at citizenship. It is not an entitlement program. Participants have to be at the 185% below poverty or be eligible for Medical assistance through the state of PA. 4
PA WIC ELIGIBILITY Must provide proof of Pennsylvania residency Must have a household income not exceeding 185% of Federal Poverty Guidelines Must be certified to have a medical or nutritional risk by the WIC staff 5 5
INCOME GUIDELINES FOR PENNSYLVANIA WIC EFFECTIVE DATE: JULY 1, 2020 – JUNE 30, 2021 Family Size Weekly Bi-Weekly Twice-Monthly Monthly Annual 1 $454 $908 $984 $1,968 $23,606 2 $614 $1,227 $1,329 $2,658 $31,894 3 $773 $1,546 $1,675 $3,349 $40,182 4 $933 $1,865 $2,020 $4,040 $48,470 5 $1,092 $2,183 $2,365 $4,730 $56,758 6 $1,251 $2,502 $2,711 $5,421 $65,046 7 $1,411 $2,821 $3,056 $6,112 $73,334 8 $1,570 $3,140 $3,401 $6,802 $81,622 Add’l Family $160 $319 $346 $691 $8,288 Members 6 6
FUNDING USDA Federal Grant Funding WIC is administered by The Pennsylvania Health Department Locally managed by Local Agencies 7
WIC FOOD LIST New food lists will be delivered, we just don’t know when right now. They have been delayed due to the pandemic. 8
Nutrient WIC Foods Which Supply the Nutrient Protein infant formula, milk, eggs, cheese, peanut butter, legumes (beans), canned fish Iron WIC-allowed brands of cereal, legumes (beans), eggs, iron-fortified infant formula Vitamin C WIC-allowed juices (citrus fruit juice, fruit juices fortified with Vitamin C), infant formula, fruits and vegetables Vitamin A milk, eggs, infant formula, fruits and vegetables, canned fish Calcium cheese, milk, infant formula, soy products Fiber fruits, vegetables, whole grains, whole grain cereals 9 9
THE WIC FOOD LIST Milk Fruits and Vegetables Cheese Whole Grains Eggs Infant Fruits and Vegetables Juice Infant Meats Cereal Infant Cereal Peanut Butter Formula Dried Beans and Peas Soy Products Canned Beans Tofu Canned Fish Yogurt 10 10
CHANGES TO WIC FOOD LIST Changes to the food list will be distributed at a later date. 11 The list will be updated in the APL starting October 1 st . The shopper app will also be updated at that time as well. 11
WIC SHOPPER APP WIC Shopper App Participants can scan items to see if they are WIC allowable. Can look up to see which grocery stores that they can shop at. Food list is also available on this app. There is a method to send in products that participants and vendors think should be on the list. 12 • Participants need to understand that just because something might be WIC allowable, doesn’t mean that they can purchase the item. It has to be on their Benefit balance (on their food package). • Shows vendors that accept eWIC • Participants and vendors are using this to send in UPCs that they think should be on the program. It comes into an email at the SA where SA staff can review the item and respond back to the sender about whether it is allowed or not. 12
MINIMUM INVENTORY REQUIREMENTS To be considered for minimum inventory the foods must be at or below the competitive price Review of Minimum Inventory Requirements Refer to page 7 Retail Store Handbook 13 Review Minimum Inventory and Price Form : Also review Max and Competitive Price forms as well. There may be other WIC foods available at the store that are over the Max amount stores must allow participants to choose them. 13
eWIC 14
eWIC 15 This is the new decal that the stores should be displaying on their doors. 15
eWIC INFORMATION FLOW Food Package/Benefits Smart PA WIC MIS Card Updated Food Hot Card List Food Package/Benefits Reconciliation Authorized Product List File Package/Benefits Payment Processor Claim File Hot Card List Authorized Product List Reconciliation File 16 There are a lot of moving parts and information that flows from one system to another with eWIC 1. The MIS does the same thing it does now – participants are certified and a food package is created and assigned to the participant. 2. Rather than printing the checks, a card is loaded with those benefits – CLICK NOW TO ADVANCE IMAGE 3. The MIS also creates two files that the stores must use • The Hot Card List – or HCL – tells the EBT vendor which cards have been reported lost or stolen or are no longer valid • The Authorized Product List – or APL – tells the EBT vendor which products are authorized as WIC eligible products. This file is at the individual UPC level for each product. 4. The MIS sends the files to the EBT processor. - – CLICK NOW TO ADVANCE IMAGE 5. The store is responsible for downloading those two files we just mentioned at least every 48 hours (can be done more often) – the HCL and the APL – CLICK NOW TO ADVANCE THE IMAGE 6. The customer goes to the store, does their shopping, and then goes to the checkout. The card is inserted into the card reader and the cashier scans the items. – CLICK NOW TO ADVANCE THE IMAGE 7. The card and items are reviewed by the card reader and approved or declined. Those 16
decisions are made by the information in the HCL, the APL and loaded onto the card. Once the transaction is complete, the card reader updates the benefits on the card. Some important differences to note about smart card transactions > Cashiers cannot enter the PAN# into the POS if it doesn’t work and participants cannot use self -checkouts. – CLICK NOW TO ADVANCE THE IMAGE 8. At the end of the day, the store sends a claim file to the EBT processor – CLICK NOW TO ADVANCE IMAGE 9. The EBT processor reconciles the claim against the lists and also allows only the maximum allowable price and then sends a reconciliation file to the store – CLICK NOW TO ADVANCE THE IMAGE 10. The EBT processor sends another reconciliation file to the WIC MIS to update benefits balance and show redeemed benefits – CLICK NOW TO ADVANCE THE IMAGE 16
CLAIMS PROCESSING 17 So a day has gone by and you’ve had your WIC customers come in with their cards…how do you get that information back to the state? There are no checks to call in or deposit with the eWIC card. 1. Every day, your system should pull all your sales together in a claim file. There is a requirement to submit them within four days but we are recommending every 24 hours. If you wait to submit a claim file more than four days, you will not be paid for those transactions. 2. The system will send the claim file to the EBT processor. 3. Your system will also download the APL, the HCL and the Auto-Reconciliation File (ARF). The APL and HCL must be downloaded every 48 hours but we are recommending every 24 hours. 4. The EBT processor validates the claim file and sends an ARF back to you. The ARF contains information about what is being claimed vs. what is being paid. One of the major differences for you in this process is that if there are price adjustments, they will be done before the claim is paid not AFTER the check is deposited like now. This is where the APL and HCL become really important. If you accept a card that has been reported lost or stolen and you haven’t downloaded the HCL in at least 48 hours, you will not be paid for that transaction. If you accepted a product that was 17
no longer on the APL and you haven’t downloaded the APL in at least 48 hours, you will not be paid for that product. The ARF tells you what is paid vs. what was requested in the claim file. 5. The next step is that the EBT processor requests payment from PA; once PA pays the processor, the processor will send the funds electronically to you. If you submit claims daily, you should receive payment within 2-3 days after successful submission. 17
MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE AND COMPETITIVE PRICES The Maximum Allowable Price is the most the WIC Program will pay a store for food purchased using an eWIC card The Competitive Price is the price WIC foods must be priced at or below, to be counted as minimum inventory 18 18
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