Public notices
Health and Family Services
(Food Stamp Program Reimbursement for Processing Food Stamp Debit Cards)
The Department of Health and Family Services will discontinue payment of an $.08 transaction fee to retails grocers effective September 1, 2003. The retailer fee is estimated to cost $532,400 (AF) in FY 03, growing due to caseloads to $651,500 in FY04 and $770,300 in FY05. These fees are eligible for 50% federal funding participation.
The transaction fee was established on August 31, 1999 by rule (DWD 14.10) and implemented at the time of statewide conversion from paper food stamp coupons to an electronic benefit transfer system for food stamp benefits. At that time, the food stamp program was administered by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). Following the transfer of the program to DHFS in July 2002, DWD 14 was reissued as HFS 252.
In what is now HFS 252.10 (2)), the Department is required to conduct a study to determine actual costs and then use these study results and other relevant factors to determine if the transaction fee should continue to be paid and if so in what amount. The Department is required to continue to pay the fee at the established rate until publication of the decision in the Administrative Register. The study results were presented to DWD on 5/30/02.
The study documented that retailer costs averaged $0.773 prior to EBT with paper coupons and average $0.218 per transaction after implementation of EBT. Based on the findings of this study, and the cost to the state, the Department will discontinue the transaction fee payment.
Nationally, only seven states including Wisconsin have chosen to pay transaction fees to retailers that use their own point-of-sale terminals to process EBT transactions. Of those states, at $0.08, Wisconsin pays the highest transaction fee. Fees paid by the other six states range from $0.014 to $0.04.
According to a national study done by the Food Marketing Institute, EBT transactions are the least costly form of payment on a per transaction basis except for cash.
Contact person:
Rick Zynda, EBT Manager
Division of Health Care Financing
P.O. Box 309
Madison, WI 53701-0309
Phone: 608-266-9812
FAX: 608-267-2269
