National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program: Financing the Post-1988 Program and Other Issues. A Report to the Congress

摘要

For vaccinations occurring after September 30, 1988, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) compensates for injuries and deaths associated with vaccines routinely administered to children. Compensation is paid out of a trust fund supported by excise taxes levied on vaccine manufacturers. Major findings of this Congressional Report on VICP and its financing are as follows: VICP compensation awards are expected to be $55 million per year during the latter half of the 1990s; The scientific literature indicates that most injuries and deaths of a type compensable under VICP cannot be said with certainty to have been caused by vaccines covered by VICP; The principle of imposing excise taxes on vaccine manufacturers to support a trust fund used to compensate victims of adverse effects associated with vaccinations is sound; The Secretary of Health and Human Services is expected to add hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines to VICP's Vaccine Injury Table; Current tax rates on vaccines generate more revenue than needed to support the Vaccine Trust Fund; Vaccines produced by State governments should be taxed on the same basis as vaccines produced by private companies; Congress may need to consider a flat-rate tax on all covered vaccines because changing vaccine technology and other factors may make risk assessment problematic.