WIC Food Packages Time for a Change (2006) / Chapter Skim
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5 Evaluation of Cost
5 Evaluation of Cost
Pages 124-144
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From page 124... ...
proposed in this report does not exceed that cost of the current WIC food packages using identical methods for estimating costs. This chapter explains the methods used to estimate the costs of the current and revised food packages and the results of these estimations on food package costs for the program as a whole.
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From page 125... ...
Depending on the package, these basic food packages include fluid milk, cheese, peanut butter, dried beans, whole wheat bread, eggs, tuna, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Because the committee strived to allow for flexibility in the revised food packages, the costs (and nutrient content)
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From page 126... ...
The quantities for food items were based on the maximum allowances specified for the current and revised packages (for current Food Packages IVII, see Table 1-1 in Chapter 1 -- Introduction and Background; for the revised food packages for infants see Table 4-1 and for children and women see Table 4-2 in Chapter 4 -- Revised Food Packages)
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From page 127... ...
or for the revised food packages as described in Table 4-3 (Proposed Specifications for Foods, Chapter 4 -- Revised Food Packages)
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From page 128... ...
by a factor of 0.321 to obtain the post-rebate cost for the formula included in both the current and revised food packages. By holding the rebate level constant, prices are held constant for the purposes of comparing costs between current and revised food packages.
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From page 129... ...
See Table 5-1 for a comparison of the estimated costs of the current and revised food packages. See Tables E-3A and E-3B in Appendix E -- Cost Calculations for the cost of representative amounts of component food items used in the revised food packages.
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From page 130... ...
The committee's assumption is that there would be no differences in the cost of special formulas and medical foods in the sets of current and revised food packages. As an example, the committee used the assumption that the prescription rate for soy infant formula stays constant for the current and revised food packages; therefore, this parameter was not included in the cost analyses.
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From page 131... ...
. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The estimates of the total program cost for food in 2002 are reported in Tables 5-2 and 5-3 (Estimated Program Costs for Food per Month Using Current Packages and Revised Packages)
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From page 132... ...
However, in 2002, about 2.84% of WIC participants categorized as 1-y-old children are, in fact, 11-mo-old infants who have been recertified as 1-y-old children; additionally, about 0.38% of WIC participants who are classified as infants are participants who are older than 366 d.
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From page 133... ...
or partially breastfeeding (45%of the total) was calculated according to the distribution of infants identified as fully or partially breast-fed (see notes e and f)
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From page 134... ...
for quantities of food are described in Table 1-1 (Chapter 1 -- Introduction and Background) for the current food packages and in Tables 4-1 and 4-2 (Chapter 4 -- Revised Food Packages)
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From page 135... ...
Even though the estimated cost of a revised food package is higher than the cost of the corresponding current food package for some participant groups, costs for other revised packages are lower than those of the corresponding current package. On average, the cost per participant is no higher.
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From page 136... ...
Partially breast-fedc,d I (13.9 mo) Fully breast-fedc - Subtotalsf 45.9 mo Fully formula-fed II Partially breast-fedg II Fully breast-fedg II Subtotalsf 611.9 mo Fully formula-fed II Partially breast-fedh II Fully breast-fedh II Subtotalsf Totals for infantsf Children 11.9 yi IV-A 24.9 yi IV-B Totals for childrenf Women Pregnantf V Partially breastfeedingj V Non-breastfeeding postpartumf VI Fully breastfeedingj VII Totals for womenf Totals for program Average cost per participant (per month)
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From page 137... ...
of powdered formula to breastfed infants during the first month if requested by the mother. The committee used the assumption that the number of breastfeeding mothers requesting formula in the first months would approximate 50% of the current number of partially breastfeeding mother/infants pairs.
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From page 138... ...
. Since virtually all of the proposed substitutions increase the cost of the package, the costs shown in Table 5-4, which include all of the allowed substitutions in the revised food packages, are higher than the cost would be if less flexibility were allowed.
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From page 139... ...
Table 5-5 shows that the market value for the revised packages for the fully breastfeeding mother/ infant pair is substantially higher than that of the current package. The three revised food packages for mothers/infants pairs are more similar in value than are the current food packages.
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From page 140... ...
30 oz 0.09 2.70 Salmon (2 14.7-oz cans) 29.4 oz 0.11 3.23 Children's food packages Fresh fruits and vegetables 9.76 lb 0.82 8.00 Canned fruits and vegetables 220 oz 9.21 Women's food packages Fresh fruits and vegetables 12.2 lb 0.82 10.00 Canned fruits and vegetables 280 oz 11.73 aAll costs use market purchase-weighted prices estimated using 19992002 price data (see data sources)
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From page 141... ...
+0.53 Canned fruits and vegetables only +1.21 Canned fruits and vegetables only +1.73 for fresh fruit is $0.69 per lb; estimated average price for fresh vegetables is $0.94 per lb. Details on costs of food items in the revised packages are presented in Tables E-3A and E-3B in Appendix E -- Cost Calculations.
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From page 142... ...
a Fully Breastfeeding Partially Breastfeeding Cost for Cost for Cost per First Year Cost per First Year Participant Category Month Months Postpartum Month Months Current Food Packages Mother $50.61 12 $ 607 $ 41.23 12 Infant, 03.9 mo -- 4 -- $ 92.69 4 Infant, 411.9 mo $ 7.68 8 $ 61 $100.37 8 Total Cost $ 668 Revised Food Packages Mother $57.05 12 $ 685 $ 57.05 1b -- -- -- $ 48.45 11 Infant, 03.9 mo 0 4 -- $ 37.25 3b Infant, 45.9 mo 0 2 -- $ 50.83 2 Infant, 611.9 mo $57.10 6 $ 343 $ 55.14 6 Total Cost $1,028 aAll costs use market purchase-weighted prices estimated using 19992002 price data (see data sources)
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From page 143... ...
an increase in milk prices of 20 percent. The effect of the reduced rebate rate on overall program food costs leads to an 8.2 percent increase for the current food packages and a 6.1 percent increase for the revised food packages.
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From page 144... ...
SUMMARY The revised food packages are cost-neutral. Using identical methods to estimate the average cost per participant of the current and revised WIC food packages, the committee found essentially no change.
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