Reminder: Act Now to Support 988!

Message from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing:

Last week we reached out asking you to write to your congressional representatives in support of the 988 Implementation Act. We wanted to pop back into your inbox with a critical opportunity we have to expand the network connecting people to mental health and substance use care across the country.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline has successfully served millions of people. But there is more work to do, and we need your support to do it. Support from you and your representative will go a long way that our crisis care system provides people in every community with someone to respond and somewhere to go if we hope to fulfill the promise of 988.

As a reminder it will only take 2 minutes to show your support. Here is why it’s paramount that your representatives support this legislation, 988 Implementation Act:

1. Expands behavioral health workforce training programs and provides grant opportunities for local behavioral health centers;
2. Expands Medicaid coverage for behavioral health services, including short term crisis intervention services;
3. Increases support for mobile crisis response, ensuring that even those in rural areas have access to timely care;
4. Creates new capital grants to be used for crisis response program facility renovation, construction, and expansion;
5. Narrows the IMD exclusion so that services furnished in psychiatric acute care crisis beds administered by CCBHCs and other crisis care settings are eligible for Medicaid coverage; and
6. Increases awareness of 988 through a national media campaign.

Contact your Congressional Representatives and urge them to support the 988 Implementation Act. By strengthening, and raising awareness for current resources, and building capacity at the state level for these on the ground crisis services, this legislation will make a difference, and save the lives of your friends, neighbors, and community members in crisis. Time is of the essence. Act today, and together we can strengthen the crisis care continuum.

Thank you for your advocacy.

Sincerely,
Rachel Abraham
Federal Policy and Advocacy Coordinator
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing