New Legislation Proposed to Modernize the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP)

 Posted on August 03, 2026 in Vaccine Information

It’s no secret that vaccine policy has been in the news during the last several years, but policy discussions have not led to vital legislative changes. That may be changing as earlier this month, legislation was proposed that would bring changes to the VICP.

The bill, introduced in the House of Representatives, proposed several significant changes to the VICP, including increasing the number of Special Masters (judges) that hear vaccine injury cases. Currently, the number of Special Masters is set at 8 by law, but the proposed legislation would increase that number to at least 10. With additional officers to hear these cases, the hope is that the length of time these cases pend would improve so that adults and kids with serious injuries do not have to wait so long for a decision in their cases.  

Additional proposals include increasing the maximum amount of pain and suffering that an injured individual received. That figure, currently capped at $250,000, has not been changed since the VICP was established in 1986. As costs/buying power changed over the years, the compensation figure for the small group of people that have been injured by a vaccine has not been updated to reflect the decreased value of what, when the VICP was established, was a generous compensation figure. The new legislation proposes updating that figure to $600,000.

Additional proposals in the legislation include changes to the type of vaccines included in the VICP and streamlining the process for adding new vaccines to the VICP so that more injured people are able to seek recourse through the Program. This would also likely pave the way for the inclusion of Covid-19 related vaccine injuries.

The bill, styled as H.R. 9672 is currently pending in the House. Additional information can be gleaned through congress.gov or by contacting your local representative.