Kentucky Administrative Regulations › Title 902 - CABINET FOR HEALTH AND FAMILY SERVICES - DEPARTMENT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH › Chapter 18 - WIC Program › Section 902 KAR 18:050 - Vendor Authorization Criteria

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 1, July 1, 2024
RELATES TO: 194A.050, 194A.505, 194A.990,
				7
				C.F.R. Part 246, 278.6,
				21
				U.S.C. 802.
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
				42
				U.S.C. 1786 and 7 C.F.R. Part 246 provide for
				grants for state operation of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
				Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
				KRS
				194A.050(1) authorizes the
				Cabinet for Health and Family Services to promulgate administrative regulations
				as necessary to qualify for the receipt of federal funds. This administrative
				regulation establishes the vendor authorization criteria for the Kentucky
				Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
				(WIC).
Section 1. Vendor Authorization
			 Criteria.
(1) Only a vendor authorized by the
			 state WIC agency shall redeem a food instrument.
(2) Each store operated by a business entity
			 shall be authorized separately from other stores operated by the business
			 entity.
(3) Each store shall have a
			 single, fixed location and redeem the WIC food instruments and provide the WIC
			 foods within the four (4) walls of the establishment.
(4) A retailer authorized as a pharmacy shall
			 only redeem food instruments for exempt infant formulas and medical
			 foods.
(5) Food vendors shall be
			 authorized in sufficient numbers and with distribution adequate to ensure:
(a) Participant convenience and access;
			 and
(b) Effective management of
			 vendor review by the cabinet and the local agency.
(6) In order to be an authorized WIC vendor,
			 a vendor shall:
(a) Complete the application
			 process, meet authorization criteria, and be approved by the state agency in
			 accordance with the Kentucky WIC Manual for Applying Retailers;
(b) Provide information required by the WIC
			 Manual, including sales volume and an updated application, requested by the
			 state WIC agency;
(c) Stock, at all
			 times, minimum inventory in accordance with the Quantified Minimum Inventory
			 Requirements outlined in the Kentucky WIC Manual for Applying Retailers:
1. The stock shall be in the store or in the
			 store's stockroom;
2. Expired foods
			 shall not count towards meeting the minimum inventory requirement;
			 and
3. A pharmacy shall supply
			 exempt formula or medical foods within forty-eight (48) hours of the state WIC
			 agency request;
(d)
			 Obtain infant formula only from the listing of Kentucky WIC Program Authorized
			 Suppliers of WIC Approved Infant Formulas,
http://chfs.ky.gov/dph/mch/Vendor+Management.htm
.
(e) Except for a pharmacy, be in compliance
			 with the Kentucky Food Code,
			 902 KAR
			 45:005, and have a valid retail food establishment or
			 retail food store permit in the current owner's name;
(f) Except for a pharmacy, be an authorized
			 SNAP retailer;
(g) Have competitive
			 prices with other authorized WIC vendors in the area, compared according to the
			 policy outlined in the WIC Manual for Applying Retailers and the Manual for
			 Contracted WIC Vendors;
(h) Display
			 the prices of WIC approved food items on each item or on the shelf or display
			 case where the items are located. A cost plus ten (10) percent store shall post
			 the final price (WIC price) on the shelf or on the signage in aisle;
(i) Be in compliance with the other Food and
			 Nutrition Service programs or the Medicaid program, including:
1. Not be disqualified or withdrawn by the
			 United States Department of Agriculture from participation in another Food
			 Nutrition Service program or the Medicaid program;
2. Not be denied application to participate
			 in SNAP or Medicaid;
3. Not be
			 currently paying a civil money penalty to SNAP or Medicaid; or
4. Not have been assessed a civil money
			 penalty by SNAP or Medicaid, and the disqualification period that would
			 otherwise have been imposed has not expired;
(j) Request authorization for a business
			 whose primary purpose is to be a retail grocery.
1. A direct distribution outlet or wholesale
			 food establishment shall not be eligible.
2. A vendor who derives more than fifty (50)
			 percent of annual food sales revenue from the sale of food items that are
			 purchased with WIC food instruments shall not be eligible.
3. A retail grocery shall:
a. Have a separate and distinct grocery
			 department in a stationary location which stocks staple food items in addition
			 to WIC approved foods; and
b. Have
			 fifteen (15) percent of gross sales in nontaxable food sales, excluding
			 specialty items such as bakery goods for a bakery or produce for a fruit and
			 vegetable stand.
4. A
			 dairy or home delivery grocery shall not be approved if it operates solely as a
			 mobile operation.
5. The use of
			 drive-up windows shall not be approved;
(k) Be registered with the Secretary of State
			 and be in good standing, if a corporation or partnership;
(l) Be open for business year round at least
			 eight (8) hours per day, six (6) days per week;
(m) Be accessible to monitoring by state and
			 federal officials without prior notice;
(n) Not be indebted to the WIC program for an
			 unpaid claim or a civil money penalty against a store owned or previously owned
			 by the applying owners; and
(o)
			 Have the capability to accept WIC program benefits electronically. A store
			 shall have the use of an internet cable or a currently Food and Nutrition
			 Services certified system to accept online WIC EBT.
(7) The WIC program shall not authorize a
			 vendor applicant if, during the last six (6) years, an applicant current owner,
			 officer, or manager has been convicted of or had a civil judgment for:
(a) Fraud;
(b) Antitrust violation;
(c) Embezzlement, theft, or
			 forgery;
(d) Bribery;
(e) Falsification or destruction of
			 records;
(f) Making false
			 statements or claims;
(g) Receiving
			 stolen property;
(h) Obstruction
			 of justice; or
(i) Another act
			 reflecting on the business integrity and reputation of the applicant, such as
			 removal from other federal or state programs.
(8) The WIC program shall not authorize a
			 store that has attempted to circumvent a period of disqualification from the
			 program, including a store that has undergone a sale or changes of operation if
			 the transaction involved the following parties:
(a) The seller or transferor is an owner,
			 operator, or manager currently suspended, sanctioned, or disqualified from WIC,
			 SNAP, or Medicaid; and
(b) The
			 buyer or transferee is related to the seller by marriage or consanguinity
			 within the fourth degree, or was a manager or employee of the seller when the
			 sanction, suspension, or disqualification was issued or the violation
			 occurred.
(9) A contract
			 shall not be entered into with a vendor if the contract would cause a conflict
			 of interest, real or apparent.
(10)
			 The WIC program shall terminate a vendor contract if it determines the vendor
			 or vendor's employee provided false information in connection with the vendor
			 application.
(11) An authorized WIC
			 vendor shall send appropriate employees (owner, manager or head cashier) to
			 attend state WIC agency required training.
(12) If an applying retailer does not meet
			 the criteria upon review by either the local or state WIC agency:
(a) The applying retailer shall be notified
			 in writing;
(b) After two (2)
			 reviews, the applying retailer shall not apply for the program for sixty (60)
			 days from the date of denial;
(c)
			 After three (3) reviews, the applying retailer shall not apply for 120 days
			 from the date of the denial;
(d)
			 Each subsequent denial shall result in an additional sixty (60) day
			 denial.
(13) A person
			 aggrieved by a decision of the cabinet may file a written request for a hearing
			 with the cabinet within fifteen (15) days after receipt of notice of the
			 adverse action. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with KRS Chapter
			 13B.