Food Prescriptions Topics

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CASH-VALUE BENEFITS (CVBs) AND DEFAULT FOOD PACKAGES (DFPs)
Despite the increased CVB amount being extended until September 30, 2023, the DFPs will continue to provide the original CVB amount of $9 and $11. There are a couple of reasons the original CVB food item and amount are used. These ensure:

• Decreased potential for over-issuance – once a food item is added to the food prescription, the system cannot validate over-issuance when the amounts are changed. Maintaining the original amount helps ensure that over-issuance does not occur.
• Consistency for users – staff should be used to editing the CVB quantity in the DFP. If a new food item were used in the DFP with the increased/decreased amount, all existing food packages would have to be updated, which changes the process that has been used for the last two years.
• Consistency and simplification for reporting - if the food item was changed every time the amount was increased/decreased or extended, staff would have to be aware of the new food item ID for reporting.

Please remember that the Food Adjustment Wizard (FAW) cannot be used if the incorrect amount of CVB is issued. Once you’ve verified whether redemption has occurred:

• Redemption: you cannot adjust the CVB for the current month in the FAW! You can only void future months, correct the food package, and reissue the future benefits.
• No Redemption: you cannot adjust the CVB in the FAW! You can only void current and future months (as long as nothing has been direct shipped, nothing has been redeemed, and the FAW has not been used to make any other changes to the benefit set), correct the food package, and reissue the current and future benefits.

January 5, 2023, HuBERT Hints

CHANGE TO MAXIMUM QUANTITY OF INFANT FRUITS AND VEGETABLES PROVIDED IN FPIII TO CHILDREN
In late October, the maximum quantity for infant fruits and vegetables allowed for children who are FPIII was changed from 144 ounces (36 x 4 oz jars) to 128 ounces (32 x 4 oz jars) when it was determined that the amount (144 ounces) exceeded Federal Regulations. Please let your participants know of this change when issuing benefits.

November 9, 2022, HuBERT Hints

Reminder! Food Adjustment Wizard Can Create Incorrect Food Prescriptions
When a participant has a food package adjusted in the Food Adjustment Wizard, and new foods or quantities are issued, the system auto-generates a food prescription with an Effective Date of the current date (and for the Printed First Date to Use, PFDTU, of any future sets of benefits). The auto-generated food prescription reflects the quantity of the food or formula issued, as well as the appropriate default foods based on the participant’s current age as of the food prescription’s Effective Date.

This can be problematic in that for women and children if milk is adjusted, for instance, the number of gallons issued may be incorrect. If an infant is issued formula, the number of cans of formula may be incorrect. If the auto-generated food prescription is issued, you could potentially under-or-over issue benefits.

We have been informed of a couple of instances in which future benefits issued, after adjusting the current benefits in the Food Adjustment Wizard, have had the incorrect amount of formula issued. This appears to occur if the following criteria are met:

• Infant’s current month benefits have been adjusted due to recall.
• The number of cans for formula being reissued was decreased for the current month.
• Infant does not change age categories before the future sets are issued/reissued.

How to Correct Benefits if this Occurs
Any time benefits are issued with less than the full amount of formula allowed based on breastfeeding amount and age category, regardless of whether redemption has occurred, you can use Add More Formula to adjust both the current and future benefits. Don’t void the benefits! Use Add More Formula to adjust them. The Increase Issued Formula (PDF) cheat sheet has step-by-step instructions. Otherwise, if you are unsure how to proceed at any time, please call the Help Desk for assistance (1-800-488-8799, press 2, 2).

Explanation of How Issue Can Occur When you use Change a Food Already Issued and select a different formula, once the revised benefits are issued, the system automatically creates a food package with the new formula and the reissued quantity. This new Food Prescription has an Effective Date of the current date and will be used for future benefits if another food prescription does not exist before the Printed First Date to Use of the future sets being issued.

• Example: Today’s date is 3/8/22.
• 1-month old NBF infant with DOB 2/13/22.
• Has benefits for 9 cans of Similac Advance for February, March, and April.
• Cycle is 15th – 14th.
• Purchased 7 cans and 3 meet the recall criteria.
• Unable to find any of the primary substitute formulas for Similac Advance but can find a formula that falls under Similac Total Comfort (and willing to try the new formula).

The Food Adjustment Wizard is used to Change a Food Already Issued. Similac Total Comfort is selected and 3 cans are returned. In the Formula Replacement modal, the Amount Returned displays 3 cans and the Amount Recovered displays 2 cans. The Cans to Issue displays 5 cans. You reissue benefits for 5 cans of Similac Total Comfort for this month’s benefits. The system creates a Food Prescription with an Effective Date of 3/8/22 for 5 cans of Similac Total Comfort and automatically voids the 3/15/22-4/14/22 and 4/15/22-5/14/22 benefits.

The infant’s 4-month food prescription does not start until 6/13/22, so the system uses the most recent, which is the food prescription it created for the current date (3/8/22) with 5 cans of Similac Total Comfort.

The March and April benefit are reissued without verifying the food prescription nor the amount being issued on the Aggregated Issuance screen.

What Can You Do to Ensure This Doesn’t Occur?
Always verify the food prescription is correct before opening Issue Benefits. Also, always verify the amount being suggested in the Aggregated Issuance screen prior to issuing the benefits. Lastly, if you forget to do either of those things, verify the quantity by other reviewing the Shopping List or Account Balance.

March 2022 HuBERT Hints #2 & August 2022 HuBERT Hints #1

Issuing the "No WIC Formula" Food Item - Select Direct Ship!

The "No WIC Formula" food item is used to ensure infants not receiving WIC formula, but receiving WIC services, are still counted for your agency. However, since it isn’t an actual food item, it is not linked to a subcategory, which is required to send it to the eWIC processor.

Since this food item is never sent to the eWIC processor, you must remember to select the Direct Ship checkbox when issuing. Otherwise, you will receive an Object Reference Error that reads "EBT category not established for distribution ID for 340".

NOTE: This will continue to work the same way in WINNIE.

November 9, 2023, February 2022 #1 and October 2019 HuBERT Hints #1

Verify Food Package BEFORE Issuing Benefits to the WIC Card – Infant vs. Child Food Packages
The auto-issuance of a child food package for an infant's last set of benefits appears to be causing frequent issues. If a child food package is issued to the WIC Card, and it is determined that an infant food package is more appropriate, the issuance can be easily corrected if done so immediately before any redemption occurs. But once redemption occurs, formula and infant foods can no longer be issued because they were not issued as part of the original issuance for the current month.

The system auto-generates a child's food package during the infant's Certification Guided Script if the infant is assigned a risk factor that is applicable to both infants and children (e.g. 142 – Preterm or Early Term Delivery). If the infant's first year birthday falls between the PFDTU and LDTU of their cycle, the system will auto-suggest issuance of the child’s food package.

All food packages should be reviewed before issuing to the WIC Card. For infants, appropriateness of the child food package should be assessed. A couple of questions to consider:

• Is the infant's birthday closer to the PFDTU or LDTU? If LDTU, the infant package may be more appropriate.
• Does the infant have any higher-risk risk factors? For instance, if born premature, had a low hemoglobin at the MCA or has any special needs then the infant food package may be more appropriate.
• Is the infant currently eating high-iron providing foods? If not, the infant food package may be more appropriate.
• Is the infant fully breastfeeding or does mom prefer the child's food package? Then the child’s food package may be more appropriate.

We recognize there is a lot to remember when issuing benefits to a WIC Card but verifying the food package is not new. Food packages should always be reviewed with the participant prior to issuing, regardless of the type of benefit being issued.

June 2019 HuBERT Hints #2

Can Add Formula if Not Originally Issued
Formula follows a different set of rules than other food items. If formula isn’t originally issued, such as with fully breastfed infants or participants with Food Package III, it can be added to the food package even once redemption has occurred for that month.

Example: Child was issued a food package and redeemed some of the food items for the current month. Child now requires Pediasure. To add this to the current month’s food package:

• In the Health Information tab, click the Food Package III checkbox
• In the Food Prescription tab, create a new food package with Pediasure
• Click on Benefits Management menu >> Food Adjustment Wizard >> Add More Formula
• The Add Formula screen will open with a default suggestion, for the formula added to the Food Prescription, based on the original issuance's package size (full if full package originally issued, 3/4 if 3/4 package originally issued, etc.). Depending on the number of days left in their cycle, it may be appropriate to prorate (decrease) the issuance.
• Send EBT Data.
• Print an Account Balance: click on Benefits Management menu >> Print EBT Account Balance

eWIC Transition Guide

Replacing Redeemed Food Items
With the exception of formula, which can be reissued for the number of cans returned to the clinic, no other redeemed food items can be reissued/replaced. However, if there are food items remaining on the WIC Card in that same category (ex: Milk/Yogurt) that need to be changed, you can use the Change Food Already Issued in the Food Adjustment Wizard to change the food.

Remember, once food items are changed/replaced, the system automatically adjusts/updates the future food items issued to the WIC Card. There is no need to void.

eWIC Transition Guide

Food Package 7 Always Provides 1 Lb. of Cheese
Food Package 7 contains 1 lb. of cheese that cannot be substituted for any other milk items. If the lb. of cheese is removed, the food calculator will indicate that there are 3 quarts available. However, if you try to add 3 more quarts of another milk food item (for example, tofu) a message will display indicating that you’ve exceeded the limit. Women receiving Food Package 7 are eligible to receive 27 quarts of milk items but 3 of those quarts are dedicated to cheese.

June 2015 HuBERT Hints #2

Reminder! Food Packages for Women Breastfeeding Multiple Infants Alternate Quantities Each Month
Women who are breastfeeding more than one infant, and receive food package 7+, have .5 quantities in their food package:

Since the system cannot issue half quantities, it alternates a smaller and larger quantity each month in order to provide the full quantity of the food package over the participant’s entire certification period.

You can see how the foods will be distributed by clicking the Show Details button. This opens the Food Item Distribution window, which indicates how the food item will be distributed starting with the first month of the participant’s current certification period.

March 2015 HuBERT Hints #1

Children Who Are Medically Fragile and Receiving Food Package III May Receive Infant F/V in lieu of CVB

Children with Food Package III will be able to substitute their $8.00 cash-value benefits for jarred baby fruits and vegetables. To do this:

• STEP 1: Edit the food prescription
• STEP 2: Click on the FRESH or Frozen/Canned Fruits and Vegetables to highlight
• STEP 3: Click the Delete Food Item
• STEP 4: Click the Add Food Item button and select INFANT FRUIT-VEGETABLES from the drop-down
• STEP 5: Select the WIC-allowed baby Fruits and Vegetables option

Update Document - Food, Formula, & Materials Given Changes - 07/01/14

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Explaining Prorated Food Packages to Participants
When issuing benefits "late" to women and children, HuBERT prorates the food package, indicating a "three-quarters", "half" or "one-quarter" food package. However, only the amount of milk is reduced; the other food items are not. CPAs should specifically mention this to participants, informing them of the amount of milk they will receive, and that the amount of other food items is not less.

We suggest not using the terms "half" or "three-quarters" food package with participants since such terms are inaccurate and likely to be confusing. If you have questions, please contact your Nutrition Consultant.

March 2013 HuBERT Hints #3

Can Create Manual Food Package if System Unable to Create Default Food Package
This is a reminder that you can create manual food packages in instances where the Default Food Package (DFP) is not available due to age category changes and you receive the following message:

To create manual food packages, you need to be familiar with the food packages, including the appropriate number of food items (such as two whole grain food items for children). Each food item would then need to be added individually.

• Select the appropriate food item(s)

The system will still base the quantities on the participant’s WIC Category, Age Category and Breastfeeding Amount.

We encourage you to always use the DFP because it is a shortcut for food packages that provides the correct number, quantity and food items for a participant. If you need to add a Risk Factor in order to use the DFP, you can assign a "transitional" Risk Factor. For children, this is Risk Factor 425X – Child transitioning to new age category and for infants transitioning from infant to child, this is Risk Factor 428 – Dietary Risk Associated with Complementary Feeding Practices.

January 2013 HuBERT Hints #2

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