Washington's 988 suicide hotline answer rate beats U.S. rate

Nearly two years after the rollout of a revamped U.S. suicide hotline , Washington's 988 answer rate is beating the national rate.

Why it matters: Washington is among a few states that have prioritized funding and resources for the new hotline, which the federal government created with the expectation that states would establish their own long-term funding to operate call centers and crisis services.

By the numbers: In May, 91% of more than 9,000 calls to 988 in Washington were answered, higher than the national rate of 88% and just above mental health advocates' goal of 90% across the country.

State of play: Though all states use surcharges on cellphone bills to fund 911 services, Washington is among just 10 states so far that have done the same for 988, according to a new report from mental health advocacy group Inseparable, shared first with Axios.

• Washington is also among 15 states that have applied for and received temporarily boosted federal Medicaid funding for crisis services and among only eight that require private insurers to cover these services at least partially, according to the report.

Zoom in: Washington has passed several pieces of legislation in recent years, including the Crisis Call Center Hubs and Crisis Services Act , that expand crisis services in the state, including funding for rapid response mobile units and training for responders.

• Last month, the state Department of Health launched its new suicide and crisis lifeline website with localized resources for Washingtonians.
• The city of Seattle has also launched a civilian team to take on some mental health-related 911 calls that were traditionally handled by police.

Catch up quick: Amid rising concerns over mental health , the federal government has given states over $1 billion since Congress passed a bipartisan bill in 2020 to build out the 988 hotline.

• But state efforts have been uneven, contributing to significantly lower response times in certain states.
• Overall, calls, texts and chats to the 988 hotline are up since it was relaunched as an easy-to-remember three-digit service in July 2022.

What they're saying: "We want a system where everybody has a comparable experience. It seems to me we're still a few years from that," said Chuck Ingoglia, CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

• He and other advocates and experts Axios spoke with said 988 implementation has been improving.

What's next: Federal regulators are looking to require that 988 calls are routed to a person's actual location , rather than their area code, to better connect them with nearby resources.