(KMAland) – A national mental health advocacy organization called Inseparable has published a report on the deployment of the Crisis Line 988 for people going through a mental health emergency.
Iowa has had good results, but questions remain about funding the service. The report calls on Iowa and other states to expand the capacity of the 988 call center, increase the number and availability of mobile mental health response units, create more crisis stabilization centers and find ways to fund it all.
Iowa moved closer to its goal of meeting 90% of his calls in a timely manner and is working to create more than two dozen mobile response teams.
Angela Kimball, Inseparable’s chief advocacy officer, said the 988 mental health services must be accessible to everyone who needs them, 24/7.
“Regardless of their ability to pay, just like we expect fire trucks to come to a fire,” Kimball said. “We don’t ask for insurance information first. The police come. They don’t ask if there’s an insurance card or a payer first.”
Iowa is considering several ways to pay for the 988 service, including a surcharge, billing commercial insurance or applying for money from the federal Medicaid program.
Kimball said the 988 system requires effective communication between mental health services, emergency first responders and police, and added that given the high stakes of mental health emergencies, a botched response is not an option.
“One in five fatal police shootings involves someone with a mental health condition,” Kimball said. “Too often, we see tragic outcomes when people don’t get the right help.”
According to Inseparable data, a 98-cent surcharge on Iowans’ phone service would generate more than $3 million annually, and the report examines ways to keep the service accountable, regardless of how it’s paid.
