Virtual Appointments Are the Norm. They Should be a Permanent Feature of WIC, Too.

In recent years, WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) has been offering virtual services, including telephone and video certification appointments, as part of a broader modernization initiative. Research shows that waiving in-person requirements increases WIC participation. But without action by Congress, the temporary waivers allowing these critical flexibilities will expire.

Bipartisan bills in both chambers of Congress would make virtual services a permanent feature of WIC. Unfortunately, the House agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year 2027 did not address virtual services. Senate appropriators should make WIC virtual services permanent in their fiscal year 2027 funding bill.

A strong body of research demonstrates the positive impacts of WIC participation, including reduced likelihood of food insecurity, preterm birth, low birthweight, and perinatal death and improved diet quality for participants. There is also growing evidence that WIC may reduce racial and ethnic health disparities and help create a healthier food environment in low-income neighborhoods.

Despite WIC’s proven benefits, many eligible people are missing out. According to USDA estimates, 56.1 percent of eligible people participated in 2023. Less than half of eligible pregnant people (49.3 percent) and children between the ages of 1 and 4 (47.9 percent) participated. And less than one-quarter of eligible people living in nonmetropolitan areas (24.0 percent) participated.

One way that WIC agencies have increased participation in recent years is by offering virtual services, including telephone or video certification appointments and loading food benefit cards remotely. These flexibilities have helped modernize the program and are especially important for families who have difficulty traveling to WIC offices, including working parents and families in rural areas.

It is common for WIC participants to have four appointments each year, and families with more than one young child often have more. Historically, with limited exceptions, WIC rules required applicants and participants to attend certification and recertification appointments in person, though nutrition education was sometimes offered online or by telephone. WIC-eligible households, particularly those who don’t participate in WIC, report that traveling to WIC offices is a key barrier.

The temporary waivers that allow WIC agencies to offer virtual services were authorized in conjunction with a broad modernization initiative. Virtual appointments have been complemented by other digital tools that make it easier to attend appointments and use food benefits, such as online appointment scheduling, text-based reminders, and mobile apps that help identify WIC-authorized foods at the grocery store.

Modernized service delivery has transformed WIC from a program that relied heavily on in-person and paper transactions to one that employs the tools and technology participants are accustomed to in daily life, including for telehealth medical appointments. Telephone certification appointments in particular may reduce barriers to participation, as young families have become accustomed to handling appointments and tasks virtually in recent years. WIC agencies have implemented measures to ensure that families receive the same level of care through virtual appointments as they would from in-person appointments. And families are still seen at least annually by WIC staff or a healthcare provider because WIC requires height and weight measurements as part of the certification process to assess growth and help determine nutritional risk.

WIC agencies also employ measures to ensure program integrity and prevent fraud in the context of virtual services. Improper payments, which often result from errors rather than fraud, are extremely low in WIC (1.4 percent in fiscal year 2024). The rate of improper payments is down from 2.0 percent in 2019, indicating that use of virtual services has not led to an increase in improper use of funds. Detecting and preventing fraud is an important part of the ongoing work that state and local WIC agencies do, as they recognize the importance of being good stewards of federal funding.

Participants and staff both reap the benefits of modernized appointments. Participants are highly satisfied with the hybrid approach and find it easier to enroll or recertify remotely than in person. A recent study found that waiving requirements for in-person appointments increased WIC participation by 11 percent. Some areas in the study did not take full advantage of other options to ease enrollment and retention, such as allowing participants to submit documents by email or text. Implementing certification streamlining measures along with waiving requirements for in-person appointments would have likely resulted in larger participation effects.

Continuing to provide virtual appointments will help reach more eligible families; enroll all eligible children in the household; and keep children on WIC longer, which leads to better diets and access to health care. A USDA study also indicates that WIC staff believe the flexibility of remote options enables them to better serve participants and should be continued. In addition to benefiting participants and staff, knowing that virtual services will be offered permanently would allow some state and local WIC agencies to reduce clinic space, which could reduce costs.

To help more eligible families enroll and renew their benefits, it is critical for Congress to make virtual certification appointments a permanent feature of WIC this year.