Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 10 - MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH › Part 5 › Subtitle 54 - SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN (WIC) › Chapter 10.54.03 - Retail Food and Pharmacy Vendors › Section 10.54.03.03 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this chapter,
				  the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Above 50 percent vendor" means a vendor
				  that derives or will derive after commencement of business more than 50 percent
				  of the vendor's annual eligible food sales revenue from WIC food
				  instruments.
(2) "Accounting
				  records" means:
(a) Legible records that show
				  actual numbers of eligible food sales from the vendor and not an estimated
				  number or percentage of eligible food sales; and
(b) Actual WIC sales for each individual
				  day.
(3) "Approved
				  foods" means the types and brands of foods:
(a) Approved by the State agency for use by
				  Program participants;
(b) Included
				  on the Maryland WIC Authorized Foods List; and
(c) Included in the Approved Product List
				  (APL).
(4-1) "Approved
				  Product List (APL)" means the electronic list of approved foods maintained by
				  the State agency.
(4-2)
				  "Authorization" means approval by the State agency for a food store, pharmacy
				  only food store/pharmacy combination, or a military commissary to redeem WIC
				  food instruments as a vendor
(4-3)
				  "Benefits" means the foods prescribed and services provided to a participant by
				  the Program.
(5) "Change in
				  ownership" means the transfer of majority control or ownership of a
				  store.
(6) "Compliance buy" means a
				  covert, on-site investigation in which a representative of the Program:
(a) Poses as a:
(i) Participant;
(ii) Parent, guardian, or caretaker of an
				  infant or child participant; or
(iii) Proxy;
(b) Presents one or more food instruments to
				  be redeemed for food; and
(c) Does
				  not reveal during the visit that the individual is a Program
				  representative.
(7) "Day"
				  means a calendar day.
(8)
				  "Disqualification" means revocation of a vendor's WIC authorization for a
				  specified period of time as prescribed in Regulation .16 of this
				  chapter.
(9) "Excess charges" means
				  the amount above the maximum price payable for the food benefits charged by a
				  vendor to the Program.
(10) "Exempt
				  infant formulas" means those infant formulas available, which are not
				  categorized as either contract or noncontract, standard infant
				  formulas.
(11) "Food instrumenf"
				  means an electronic benefits issuance card or other document that is used to
				  obtain supplemental foods.
(12)
				  "Food package" means a grouping of specified types and amounts of foods, as set
				  forth in Regulation .06A of this chapter, used for the purpose of evaluating
				  vendor prices.
(13) "Food sales"
				  means sales of all SNAP eligible foods intended for home preparation and
				  consumption, as set forth in 7 CFR §
												246.2.
(14) "Food store" means a grocery or
				  supermarket licensed under COMAR 10.15.03 that ordinarily has, for sale to the
				  public, authorized foods and does not have a pharmacy under the same ownership
				  on its premises.
(15) "Food
				  store/pharmacy combination" means a food store and a pharmacy under the same
				  ownership on the same premises.
(16) "High risk" means a vendor has been
				  determined by the State agency to have a high probability of violating program
				  requirements.
(17) "Inventory
				  audit" means an audit conducted over a specific period of time in order to
				  determine whether a vendor's claimed reimbursement for the sale of an amount of
				  a specific food item exceeds the vendor's documented inventory of that
				  item.
(18) "Inventory invoices"
				  mean sales receipts for WIC food purchased by the vendor for resale by the
				  vendor, from a supplier which can be a wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer,
				  or other retailer.
(19) "Maximum
				  price payable" means the maximum amount of money the Program will pay a vendor
				  for the WIC food items on the food instrument.
(20) "Medical foods" means WIC-eligible
				  formula authorized for children and women with special dietary needs.
(21) "Minimum required stock"
				  means the specific types and amounts of WIC-authorized foods that shall be in a
				  vendor's store during business hours.
(22) "Monitoring" means assessing vendor compliance
				  with program requirements.
(23)
				  "Nonprofit entity" means a vendor applicant or vendor whose business has been
				  granted a 26 U.S.C. §
												501(c)(3) federal income tax
				  exemption by the United States Internal Revenue Service.
(24) "On-site review" means an inspection of
				  a vendor applicant's premises by a Program representative to ensure that
				  requirements for authorization are met.
(25) "Participanf" means a pregnant woman, a
				  breastfeeding woman, a postpartum woman, an infant, a breastfed infant of a
				  participant breastfeeding woman, or a child receiving supplemental foods or
				  food benefits from the Program.
(26) "Pattern" means two or more vendor
				  violations of the same provision.
(27) "Peer group" means a grouping of stores
				  with similar characteristics and business practices that correlate to food
				  costs.
(28) "Peer group average"
				  means the arithmetic mean of prices charged by vendors within a peer group for
				  food items.
(29) "Pharmacy only"
				  means an establishment that:
(a) Has been
				  issued a permit to operate by the State Board of Pharmacy; and
(b) Does not have a food store under the same
				  ownership on its premises
(29-1) "PIN" means a personal identification
				  number used to securely access benefits on the food instrument
(30) "Program" means the Special Supplemental
				  Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) authorized by
				  42 U.S.C. §
												1786, the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as
				  amended, including the local, State, and federal entities that administer
				  it.
(31) "Proxy" means an
				  individual who is designated by a participant or a child, or infant
				  participant's parent, guardian, orcaretaker to receive food instruments and to
				  redeem food benefits for the participant and whose name is on file at a local
				  agency.
(32) "Region" means a
				  designated area of the State for administration of the WIC Program including
				  vendor selection and peer group designation.
(33) "Standard infant formulas" means
				  nutritionally complete infant formulas which do not require the addition of any
				  ingredient other than water before being served in a liquid state and which
				  supply at least 10 milligrams of iron per liter at standard dilution and
				  approximately 20 kilocalories per fluid ounce at standard dilution.
(34) "State agency" means the Department of
				  Health and Mental Hygiene's WIC Program.
(35) "Store" means a food store, pharmacy,
				  food store/pharmacy combination, or military commissary.
(36) "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
				  Program (SNAP)" means the federal program administered by the United States
				  Department of Agriculture that provides financial assistance for purchasing
				  food.
(37) "Traffic" means to buy
				  or sell a food instrument or benefits for cash.
(38) "Universal Product Code (UPC)" means a
				  unique barcode assigned to a trade item and used to track items for sale in
				  stores, such as food
(39) "USDA"
				  means the United States Department of Agriculture.
(40) "Vendor" means a sole proprietorship,
				  partnership, cooperative association, corporation, or other business entity
				  operating one or more stores authorized by the State agency to provide
				  authorized supplemental foods to participants under a retail food delivery
				  system.
(41) "Vendor agreement"
				  means a written agreement between the State agency and a vendor concerning the
				  duties and responsibilities of the vendor and the State agency with respect to
				  a vendor's participation in the WIC Program.
(42) "Vendor applicant" means a sole proprietorship,
				  partnership, cooperative association, corporation, or other business entity
				  operating one or more stores that has applied to the State agency for WIC
				  authorization.
(43) "Vendor price
				  list form" means the form used by the State agency to collect a vendor's shelf
				  prices for WIC food items.
(44)
				  "Vendor's price" means the cost of a food package listed in Regulation .06A of
				  this chapter as calculated from actual lowest shelf prices collected by the
				  State agency during an on-site visit.
(45) "WIC" means the Special Supplemental
				  Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) as authorized by
				  42 U.S.C. §
												1786, the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as
				  amended.
(46) "WIC-authorized foods
				  list" means a list of foods authorized by the Maryland WIC program for purchase
				  by Maryland WIC participants.
(47)
				  "WIC Management Information System" means the WIC Program's software
				  application, which provides:
(a) Client
				  services;
(b) Financial management;
				  and
(c) Vendor compliance
				  oversight.