# Plain Language Summary: Vaccine Injury Compensation Modernization Act of 2023

This bill modernizes the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, which is a federal system that helps people who suffer serious injuries from vaccines. Right now, if someone believes a vaccine harmed them, they can file a claim through this program to receive compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. This bill makes several changes to make the process faster and more generous.

The bill increases the number of judges (called "special masters") who handle these cases from a maximum of 8 to a minimum of 10, which should help reduce the backlog of cases waiting to be heard. It also allows these judges to serve longer terms—up to 8 years instead of the current 4 years—which means more experienced judges can stay on the job. The bill speeds up how quickly the Centers for Disease Control must review and recommend new vaccines for the injury compensation table, cutting the timeline from 2 years down to 6 months. It also requires better reporting on how many cases are pending and how long people are waiting.

The bill significantly increases the money available to injured people. For vaccine-related deaths, compensation jumps to $600,000 (adjusted for inflation each year), and the maximum award for pain and suffering also increases to $600,000. Additionally, people now have 5 years instead of 3 years to file a claim after a vaccine injury occurs. Finally, the bill moves COVID-19 vaccines into the main Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and transfers any pending COVID-19 vaccine injury claims from a temporary emergency program into this permanent system, notifying all claimants of the change.