HHS Secretary Kennedy takes aim at reforming the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

Recently RFK Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, created a stir with comments on X stating that he intends to conduct a sweeping overhaul of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, or VICP. Secretary Kennedy used strong language with criticism aimed at both the DOJ attorneys who represent the US government against injured claimants and the judges of the VICP, known as Special Masters.

Secretary Kennedy’s comments highlight the problems with the VICP but leave us to wonder what his solutions will be. This is a wise decision, as any solutions will require strong support, and will face logistical hurdles and bureaucratic resistance. As attorneys that work in this program, we can’t say exactly what changes will come, but there are several long-standing complaints with the VICP, giving us clues to how Secretary Kennedy will act.

First, the fear expressed by some that Secretary Kennedy will seek to eliminate the VICP altogether and remove the immunity of pharmaceutical companies is not well founded. The VICP was created by statute, and Secretary Kennedy does not control Congress. Further, Secretary Kennedy has strongly emphasized his desire to reform and fix the VICP, not to eliminate it.

The issue most often in the spotlight is whether COVID vaccines will be included in the program. Currently, people injured by the COVID vaccines must go through a similar but separate program, the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program, or CICP. This program is notoriously underfunded, poorly managed, and is closer to a black hole for claims than it is a functioning government program. The problem is that this change requires Congress to add a 75 cents excise tax on these vaccines. This means Secretary Kennedy alone has limited authority to fix this problem.

Another major issue is simply how the program is administered, the process. Cases are rarely conceded by the Department of Justice and cases can take years to resolve. These issues are fascinating because they are partly innocent, such as not enough special masters to process cases, but possibly intentional as well, such as the Department of Justice allegedly drawing out cases as long as possible to force claimants to accept low settlements. This is where Secretary Kennedy could really shine. Between his role at HHS and Pam Bondi’s influence at the DOJ, meaningful change to the process is possible. But again, some of these problems, such as the number of special masters, is a question for Congress.

As the attorneys who work with the families who believe their loved ones were injured by vaccines, all we can say is that we welcome this long-needed effort at reform of this government program. Stay tuned, we live in interesting times!