Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a series of major actions Tuesday aimed at reinforcing parental rights in pediatric medicine, including a federal investigation, new provider guidance, and added compliance requirements for grant-funded health centers.
HHS has opened an investigation into a complaint that a Midwestern school illegally vaccinated a child with a federally supplied immunization after disregarding a religious exemption filed under state law. The probe, led by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), will assess whether the school violated the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program’s requirement that federally provided vaccines be administered in compliance with all state religious and other exemption statutes. Investigators will also review how the state agency and school district handle exemption requests while implementing the VFC program.
“Today, we are putting pediatric medical professionals on notice: you cannot sideline parents,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “When providers ignore parental consent, violate exemptions to vaccine mandates, or keep parents in the dark about their children’s care, we will act decisively.”
Deputy Secretary and Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill said the VFC investigation is necessary to “restore public trust in immunization policy,” emphasizing that the program “should never circumvent parents’ rights.”
In a parallel action, OCR issued a Dear Colleague letter reminding health care providers that federal law—including the HIPAA Privacy Rule—requires giving parents access to their children’s protected health information when they have legal authority to make medical decisions. OCR also launched compliance reviews of several large health systems to ensure timely access to records.
HHS further directed the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to add a new requirement for all Health Center Program grantees: before any medical, dental, behavioral health, preventive, or sensitive-topic services are provided to a minor, health centers must obtain parental or guardian consent as required by federal or state law. This condition will apply to all HRSA-supported care and will be included in grant terms going forward. HRSA will also issue a formal notice outlining the obligation.
Officials said the combined actions aim to strengthen accountability, clarify legal expectations for pediatric providers, and prevent situations where parents are excluded from decisions about their children’s medical treatment.
Individuals who believe their health information privacy or civil rights have been violated may file a complaint with OCR.
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