{"data":{"id":"us-va/12vac5-195-340","jurisdiction":"us-va","citation":"12VAC5-195-340","heading":"Competitive pricing","body":"A. Authorized retailers and applicants shall submit pricing information to the state agency. Item pricing data is obtained from authorized retailers and applicants using prices that have been entered into a WIC-approved Internet-based application.\n\nB. The state agency shall collect pricing information for specific food items at least twice a year (7 CFR 246.12). Prices may be collected more frequently from authorized retailers for reasons including:\n\n1. A retailer's prices are determined to be noncompetitive;\n\n2. A retailer is designated as a  high-risk retailer;\n\n3. An administrative review is being conducted as part of a compliance investigation, onsite monitoring visit, participant access analysis, inventory audit, or post payment analysis; or\n\n4. Other operational considerations that may occur including a change of contract formula company, a change of infant food company, food industry price fluctuations, and manufacturer's price increases for selected WIC-approved products, such as baby foods, contract formula, and infant cereal.\n\nC. Retailers and applicants must submit the highest shelf price for all mandatory foods and formula brands, unless stated otherwise, that are available and eligible to be sold to participants. For milk items only, retailers must submit the price for their WIC designated brand. All prices submitted via the Internet-based application shall be used for calculating the reimbursement maximums. Retailers must use the approved food list and the minimum stocking requirement to identify all eligible brands and foods.\n\nD. Retailers failing to submit their prices within 14 days of the due date stated in the  retailer manual shall receive one warning letter. After receiving  the letter, retailers that fail to respond within the time period stated in the letter may have their WIC Program authorization terminated unless the state agency determines that inadequate participant access would exist if the retailer's authorization were terminated.\n\nE. Applicants whose prices are determined to be noncompetitive when compared with other authorized retailers in the same peer group shall be denied WIC Program authorization. These applicants shall not be given a second opportunity to resubmit their prices unless the state agency determines that inadequate participant access would exist if the application was not considered.\n\nF. Authorized retailers whose prices are determined to be noncompetitive when compared with other retailers assigned to the same peer group shall be given one opportunity to resubmit their prices. After analyzing the prices submitted from this second submission, the state agency shall determine if the retailer qualifies to remain authorized. The state agency shall terminate the retailer's authorization if its prices are noncompetitive unless the state agency determines that inadequate participant access would exist if the retailer's authorization were terminated.\n\nG. The applicant's physical retailer address shall be classified as being located either in an urban or rural location based on the county or city where the retailer is located. Retailer applicants located outside of Virginia shall be assigned to the rural category.\n\nRural Areas1\n\nCities:\n\nNorton, Suffolk\n\nCounties:\n\nAccomack, Albemarle, Alleghany, Amelia, Amherst, Appomattox, Augusta, Bath,  Bedford, Bland, Botetourt, Brunswick, Buchanan, Buckingham, Campbell,  Caroline, Carroll, Charles City, Charlotte, Clarke, Craig, Culpeper,  Cumberland, Dickenson, Dinwiddie, Essex, Fauquier, Floyd, Fluvanna, Franklin,  Frederick, Giles, Gloucester, Goochland, Grayson, Greene, Greensville,  Halifax, Hanover, Henry, Highland, Isle of Wight, King and Queen, King  George, King William, Lancaster, Lee, Louisa, Lunenburg, Madison, Mathews,  Mecklenburg, Middlesex, Montgomery, Nelson, New Kent, Northampton,  Northumberland, Nottoway, Orange, Page, Patrick, Powhatan, Pittsylvania,  Prince Edward, Prince George, Pulaski, Rappahannock, Richmond, Rockbridge,  Rockingham, Russell, Scott, Shenandoah, Smyth, Southampton, Spotsylvania,  Surry, Sussex, Tazewell, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland, Wise, Wythe\n\nUrban Areas1\n\nCities:\n\nAlexandria, Bedford, Bristol, Buena Vista, Charlottesville, Chesapeake,  Clifton Forge, Colonial Heights, Covington, Danville, Emporia, Fairfax, Falls  Church, Franklin, Fredericksburg, Galax, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Hopewell,  Lexington, Lynchburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, Martinsville, Newport News,  Norfolk, Petersburg, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Radford, Richmond, Roanoke, Salem,  Staunton, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro, Williamsburg, Winchester\n\nCounties:\n\nArlington, Chesterfield, Fairfax, Henrico, James City, Loudoun, Prince  William, Roanoke, Stafford, York\n\n1The state agency uses the Isserman model for determining  what cities and counties are considered urban and rural settings. This model  was created for the  U.S. Department of  Agriculture and was published in \"In the National Interest: Defining  Rural and Urban Correctly in Public Policy\" (International Regional  Science Review, 28, 4:465 - 499 (2005))\n\nAuthorized retailers are assigned to a peer group based on their designation of rural or urban and the number of cash registers located in the retailer. Peer groups are defined as follows:\n\nPeer Group\n\nDescription\n\nLocation\n\n06\n\nSpecial formula contractor\n\nOther\n\n50\n\nOne to four cash registers\n\nRural\n\n51\n\nFive to nine cash registers\n\nRural and under $100,000 in annual WIC sales\n\n52\n\nFive to nine cash registers\n\nRural and over $100,000 in annual WIC sales\n\n53\n\n10 and above cash registers\n\nRural\n\n60\n\nOne to four cash registers\n\nUrban\n\n61\n\nFive to nine cash registers\n\nUrban and under $100,000 in annual WIC sales\n\n62\n\nFive to nine cash registers\n\nUrban and over $100,000 in annual WIC sales\n\n63\n\n10 and above cash registers\n\nUrban\n\nH. For newly authorized retailers and applicants, the peer group designation assigned during the first three months shall be determined by the retailer's location and number of cash registers. For the peer group designation of newly authorized retailers that have five to nine cash registers, the state agency shall assume the retailer had less than $100,000 in annual WIC sales.\n\nI. All retailers that have five to nine cash registers shall have their WIC sales data calculated by the state agency every six months to determine if the retailer's annual WIC sales are projected to be under or over $100,000. If the retailer's WIC sales have changed, then the retailer's assigned peer group shall change to reflect its redemption status.\n\nJ. Retailers that increase or decrease  the number of cash registers must notify the state agency in writing within 15 calendar days. An onsite visit may be conducted by the state agency to confirm the number of operational cash registers. Retailers that knowingly misrepresent  the number of cash registers may have their authorization status terminated unless the state agency determines that inadequate participant access would exist if the retailer's authorization were terminated.","path":["Title 12. Health","Agency 5. Department of Health","Chapter 195. Virginia WIC Program","Part III. Retailer Requirements"],"source_url":"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title12/agency5/chapter195/section340/","current_through":"2026 Regular Session (effective July 1, 2026)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T04:50:01Z","sha256":"f9ab7f7693dab5d98303ab4979e37a7cd88595ec102c291718ce8370ccb88402","source_id":"us-va-vac","stale":false,"prev":"us-va/12vac5-195-330","next":"us-va/12vac5-195-350"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}