Vaccine Injury Modernization Act Update
The Vaccine Injury Modernization Act is a piece of legislation introduced by Representative Doggett and Representative Upton which would update the VICP by adding measures to facilitate transparency in judgments, fair compensation, reduced case backlog, and more. The Vaccine Injury Modernization Act was introduced in the 117th congress and was referred to the House Committee of Health and Commerce and then to the subcommittee of Health (congress.gov). In modernizing the VICP, the public could feel more comfortable receiving their Covid-19 vaccines as well as other vital vaccines due to the strengthened safety net this Act would provide.
The Vaccine Injury Modernization Act plans to improve the VICP by addressing current issues within the program.
Firstly, this Act will help to reduce the case backlog by increasing the allowed number of Special Masters from a ceiling of 8 to a floor of 10. This will ensure that cases are handled in a more timely manner.
Secondly, this bill contains “additional reporting requirements” which will require the Special Masters to provide an annual report detailing the caseload, pending cases and if they are scheduled for hearings, amount of days it took for cases to receive a judgment, amount of cases that did receive a judgment and what that judgment was, and recommendations on the need for additional Special Masters. This will improve the transparency of the judgment process in the VICP.
Thirdly, this bill will increase compensation by increasing the cap on damages to the amount it would be with inflation included in calculations and also establish an inflation-based formula to increase the cap in coming years. This will encourage more fair compensation for vaccine injuries.
Fourthly, the statute of limitations will be expanded from 36 months to 5 years, allowing injured persons to have sufficient time to file claims.
Fifthly, this bill prioritizes recommendations from the CDC meaning the addition of new vaccines to the VICP would be expedited as the HHS would have to add CDC-recommended vaccines/injuries to the injury table within 6 months of a CDC recommendation rather than 2 years.
Further, the VICP would have to include vaccines/injuries recommended by the CDC for routine administration in adults as opposed to just children which would expand the types of vaccines eligible for coverage. This would allow the Covid-19 vaccines to be included in the VICP rather than the CICP which would provide for more stable compensation for those injured by the Covid-19 vaccine as well as encourage more citizens to get vaccinated as they have a larger safety net. Finally, this act will, “Streamline the application of the 75-cent excise tax on covered-vaccine doses by eliminating the requirement that Congress pass legislation to apply the tax each time a new vaccine is added to the VICP. The tax would now be automatically applied once HHS adds a vaccine to the injury table” (doggett.house.gov). All these amendments to the VICP would not only help extend coverage to a wider variety of injuries but also ensure that those who are injured receive a more fair compensation in a more efficient time-frame.
This bill is still in the introduction stage of congress. The Subcommittee on Health of the Committee of Energy and Commerce held a legislative hearing on June 15, 2021 on this matter. From here, the bill needs to be passed by the House, Senate, and President.
Sources:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3655/all-actions
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