WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers sent a letter on Thursday to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requesting the establishment of strict hospice reporting rules.

The letter also requested investigations into potential abuses related to physician-assisted suicide. Signatories included Republican Senator James Lankford, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, Republican Representative Greg Murphy, and Democratic Representative Jose Luis Correa.

The lawmakers stated that older adults, people with disabilities, and individuals with disaffected caregivers face a risk of being pressured to end their lives. "Every person has inherent worth and dignity, including those facing their final days," Senator Lankford said.

The letter called for monitoring of discriminatory practices and investigations into whether insurance companies deny life-sustaining medical care while offering to cover physician-assisted suicide drugs. The lawmakers also sought investigations into compliance with federal restrictions that ban the use of federal funds for physician-assisted suicide items or services.

"Hospice should be a place of compassion, comfort, and care, where the suffering are surrounded by loved ones and quality health care, not a place where they feel quietly pressured to end their lives through assisted suicide," Lankford added. The lawmakers expressed concern that the witness requirement for assisted suicide might not adequately protect elderly patients from financial abuse, as witnesses could financially benefit from a patient's death through wills or life insurance.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia currently allow medically assisted suicide, including California and New York. Eligible patients are generally adults diagnosed with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less, and they self-administer prescribed lethal medication. Many individuals with disabilities warn that states legalizing physician-assisted suicide send the message that the lives of persons with disabilities are less valued in society. The non-profit organization Aging With Dignity reported in March that at least 14,446 Americans have died by physician-assisted suicide since 1997.