Florida's 988 crisis centers pick up fewer calls than other states

Almost two years after the debut of a revamped national suicide hotline , its promise of a quicker, more seamless crisis response is still a work in progress.

Why it matters: Congress gave states $1 billion to build out the 988 hotline, with the expectation that states would establish their own long-term funding to operate crisis services.

• But those efforts have been slow in Florida — and its in-state response rate lags behind other states that have secured funds for 988.

State of play: Though Florida uses surcharges on cellphone bills to fund 911 services, it hasn't done the same for 988, according to a new report from mental health advocacy group Inseparable shared first with Axios.

• If enacted, a monthly surcharge would generate about $21 million each year for the state's 988 services.
• Florida hasn't applied for or received temporarily boosted federal Medicaid funding for mobile crisis services — and it hasn't required private insurers to cover these services, per the report.

Where it stands: Calls, texts and chats to the hotline are up since it was relaunched as an easy-to-remember three-digit service in July 2022.

• But in Florida, 78% of 988 calls were answered in-state last month. That's below the national average of 89%, according to federal data .

The bottom line: Response rates don't give the full picture of how well a state has implemented 988, but they can indicate whether a state's call center has adequate resources, says Angela Kimball, Inseparable's chief advocacy officer.

• A federally funded national backup system exists so anyone in the country can access a trained counselor when they call 988, HHS told Axios.

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