A group of state lawmakers on Thursday announced a push for a bill that would allow all stores participating in the WIC program to accept checks for prescription formula in effort to reverse a 2014 Department of Health policy.
The lawmakers, Sens. Jeff Klein, Adriano Espaillat and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, announced the legislation along with the release of a report critical of the DOH policy, which mandates WIC recipients only use checks to purchase prescription formula in stores that have pharmacies.
The two-year-old policy wound up cutting off access to available prescription formula in stores nearby for New York City residents.
“The DOH policy change has been a formula for disaster,” Klein said in a statement.
“WIC participants who must buy prescription formula for infants shouldn’t have to travel all over the city to find a store with a pharmacy when a supermarket or small grocer that accepts WIC checks might also shelve this vital product. I will work to make sure that we reverse this policy so our families have access to the nutritional products they need.”
The report released on Thursday found the policy change caused a decline in selection for those receiving WIC checks to find prescription formula for brands such as Enfamil, Ensure or Similac.
Both for the change took effect, there were 1,349 stores where WIC recipients could use their checks to purchase prescription formula in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. Now, there are collectively 149 locations where the formula is available.
The Bronx and Brooklyn were also impacted: In the Bronx, 16 zip codes have no stores where those receiving WIC checks can purchase formula; in Brooklyn there is one zip code where there are no eligible stores to purchase formula.
“Due to DOH’s policy change, there are some zip codes in my district where no stores are eligible to sell specialty formula,” said Espaillat in a statement. “That is simply unacceptable. WIC recipients must have access to the products they need to maintain their children’s health and well-being. Allowing neighborhood grocery stores to sell specialty formula, and ensuring those stores are not burdened with fees associated to reimbursement rejections, will restore much needed access to WIC.”