The health secretary said the policy change restores informed consent and ends federal pressure on physicians and families regarding vaccine decisions.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has ended a federal requirement that health care providers report the vaccination status of patients, reversing a policy that applied to doctors participating in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The change was formally communicated in a Dec. 30, 2025, letter from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to state health officials, which said Kennedy directed the agency to stop requiring physicians to report which vaccines children had received by age 2 and additional immunizations administered by age 14. The requirement had also applied to reporting the immunization status of pregnant women, a mandate that was eliminated under the same directive.
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Under the previous policy, doctors caring for patients covered by Medicaid and CHIP were required to submit vaccine reporting data to states, which then conveyed the information to CMS. While the reporting program was voluntary when first introduced, it became mandatory beginning in fiscal year 2024.
“Government bureaucracies should never coerce doctors or families into accepting vaccines or penalize physicians for respecting patient choice. That practice ends now,” Kennedy said in a post on X. “Under the Trump administration, HHS will protect informed consent, respect religious liberty, and uphold medical freedom.”
CMS did not respond to requests for comment on the decision. In its letter to state officials, however, the agency noted that Kennedy has statutory authority to modify required reporting measures in order “to improve and strengthen” federal data collection. CMS said the immunization reporting requirements were removed pursuant to that authority.
The agency stated that health care providers may continue to submit immunization data voluntarily if they choose, allowing CMS to maintain long-term datasets while it evaluates alternative approaches. CMS also said that beginning in 2026, federal officials plan to explore new measures focused on whether parents and families were informed about vaccine options, safety considerations, potential side effects, and alternative vaccination schedules.
According to the notice, CMS intends to consult with states, providers, and other stakeholders as it develops those measures. The agency also said it would examine ways to account for religious exemptions in future data collection.
“CMS will also explore how religious exemptions for vaccinations can be accounted for in the data and the subsequent measures,” the letter states.
CMS further emphasized that immunization quality measures are not tied to federal payment levels in Medicaid or CHIP. While states have discretion to incorporate quality measures into their own value-based purchasing or payment incentive programs, CMS said it “strongly discourages” states from using immunization measures as a basis for payment arrangements.
The policy shift marks a significant change in federal oversight of vaccine reporting and reflects Kennedy’s stated position that medical decisions should remain between patients and their health care providers without federal coercion.
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