Published June 1, 2026
On June 1, 2026, EPPC Scholars across three EPPC programs—the Administrative State Accountability Project, the Bioethics, Technology, and Human Flourishing Program, and the Life and Family Initiative—submitted a public comment to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to a Proposed Rule that asked for information on whether hospices are obeying a federal law that blocks federal funds from supporting assisted suicide.
The comment drafted by Eric Kniffin, Rachel N. Morrison, Alexander Raikin, Aaron Kheriaty, and Jamie Bryan Hall encourages CMS to vigorously investigate concerns that assisted suicide advocates are encouraging practitioners to break the law. The comment centers on Alexander Raikin’s investigative work, which has uncovered evidence from “assisted suicide clinicians and their supporters,” which “indicate that federal funds have been regularly spent … on assisted suicide in hospices”:
Despite Congress’ clear prohibitions, there is considerable evidence that Federal funds are being used to pay for assisted suicide. … Federal law takes such infractions seriously. If a physician or hospice knowingly submits false claims to obtain payment for services not covered by Medicaid, such as assisted suicide, that constitutes fraud, leading to possible criminal and civil consequences. As recent offenders have found, … “there are no awards or incentives for creativity when it comes to medical billing and tax fraud.”
More generally, the public comment explains why EPPC and its scholars are categorically opposed to assisted suicide and have identified this issue as the “next critical battle for human dignity.” The comment summarizes EPPC fellows’ work against assisted suicide, including President Ryan T. Anderson‘s own scholarship spanning over a decade.
EPPC scholars also encourage CMS to abandon the term “medical aid in dying,” or “MAID,” which is a poll-tested euphemism designed to raise support by distracting Americans from what assisted suicide actually entails: medical professionals helping their patients kill themselves. The scholars ask CMS to use instead “assisted suicide,” the term used in federal law.
The comment offers CMS detailed recommendations on ways to combat billing fraud, safeguard the use of federal funds, and protect vulnerable Americans from assisted suicide. The scholars note that their recommendations align with the Trump Administration’s efforts to enforce federal law, protect the dignity of human life, and eliminate pervasive waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
Others submitting comments on the proposed rule included:
- Members of Congress Sen. James Lankford, Rep. J. Luis Correa, and Rep. Gregory F. Murphy, M.D.
- Aging with Dignity
- Americans United for Life
- The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention
Eric Kniffin is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he works on a range of initiatives to protect and strengthen religious liberty as part of EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project.
