vermont wic mis/ebt project what is wic ebt and how will it change vermont wic?
Post on 27-Dec-2015
229 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Vermont WIC MIS/EBT Project
What is WIC EBT and How Will It Change Vermont WIC?
The food delivery change is actually a two-part process … Migration from Home Delivery to Retail
Migration from paper Food Instruments (FIs) to Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)
Current Food Delivery
Triple system:
(1) POD and home delivery
(2) Direct distribution for special formulas
(3) EBT cash value for fruits & veggies
Paper-based, faxing, scanning, phoning
Financial reconciliation and payment done manually
Limitations on participant food choices
Interruptions to delivery; concerns about food quality
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) will:
Make food delivery process paperless
Provide more food choices
Increase use of fruit and veggie benefit
Simplify financial management
Increase accountability
Gather better information about benefit use for nutrition
counseling & education
HOW????
WIC Benefit Issuance
As with home delivery, an electronically stored account is created for each household at the time of certification and assignment of food package. (The account is created by Ceres.)
The account lists foods by category (e.g. milk), subcategory (e.g. non-fat) and quantity (e.g. 2 qts)
A message with the account information is sent by Ceres to the EBT “Host” computer for accessing by grocers
At the clinic, the household is issued a single card for accessing all participating members’ benefits stored on the EBT Host
Recertified households use the same card. Only the stored account (not the card) is modified at recertification.
Connecting at the Grocer’s
Foods on the Vermont Authorized Products List are identified to retail vendors using nationally standardized UPC and PLU codes so their scanners can recognize WIC eligible foods. Grocers download this list to their electronic cash register (ECR) systems.
Grocer systems will be set up to:
1. “Read” the WIC participant’s card for household identity; then…
2. Connect with the EBT system Host computer to “read” the food prescription for that household that is electronically stored there; and then…
3. Compare the scanned foods for WIC eligible foods available in the household’s account; and then …
4. Send a message to the EBT Host identifying the eligible foods purchased, to “debit” the household’s electronic account, and post the charge for each item.
The WIC EBT Transaction
Cashier scans foods
1. Item UPC is compared to APL stored in grocer system-- Is this UPC on the APL? (That is, is this a WIC food?)
2. The grocer’s ECR “flags” and stores the WIC eligible foods until all foods are scanned
Participant swipes or inserts card and enters PIN. System validates card, PIN and retailer
Cashier “totals” the transaction
1. Flagged WIC items are compared to participant’s WIC account, stored on the WIC EBT Host. Is this item in the participant’s prescribed food account? (eg. Does her account contain 18 oz. peanut butter?)
2. EBT system approves or denies transaction
The WIC EBT Transaction
If approved:
1. Store price is captured for each food item
2. Discounts, coupons are applied
3. If price exceeds Not-to-Exceed, reimbursement amount to grocer for item is reduced to NTE
4. Paid amount is calculated
5. HH account balance is reduced by amounts purchased
6. Receipt showing details of transaction and updated account balance is printed for household.
WIC EBT vs SNAP EBT
Benefit Type
SNAP Cash Value
WICSpecific quantity of specific foods plus Cash Value for F&V
Eligible Foods
SNAP Any food exempt from sales tax
WIC Specific foods/brands identified by UPC/PLU
WIC EBT vs SNAP EBT
Pricing
SNAP No price limitations
WICState required to set maximum allowable price for each food item
WIC EBT vs SNAP EBT
In the Lane
SNAP Major ECR systems already programmed to recognize SNAP-eligible items.
WIC • Requires grocers to maintain database of eligible foods and a scanner system to automatically check purchases in real time for eligibility.
• If “look-up” function is not integrated into ECR, requires separate scanning to look-up items and charge to WIC account.
WIC EBT vs SNAP EBT
EBT History
1984 - USDA SNAP Pilot (Reading, PA)
1993 - First statewide SNAP EBT project (Maryland)
2002 – First statewide WIC EBT system (Wyoming)
2004 – SNAP EBT nationwide all 50 states, DC, Guam, US VI, and Puerto Rico
2004-2009 – Texas, Nevada, New Mexico rollout smartcard WIC EBT systems
2009 – Michigan, first statewide online WIC EBT system
2010 – KY begins rollout of second WIC EBT online system
2020 – Congressional mandate for nationwide WIC EBT
Timeline for MIS and EBT
Currently Procurement of contractors
2/2014 – 5/2014 Design process
6/2014 – 5/2015 System development & testing
5/2015 – 9/2015 System Pilot
9/2015 – 3/2016 Statewide roll-out
Staff Roles in the Project
Opportunities for staff participation
1. Expert knowledge in design phase
2. Feedback & testing in development phase
3. Preparing families for change
4. Early adopters for pilot
Any Questions?
top related