T-Mobile, Mental Health Advocates Backing Kansas 988 Fee Plan

T-Mobile joined a parade of mental health advocates Thursday backing Kansas' proposed fee structure to fund implementation of the 988 suicide prevention hotline. HB2281 would set the structure for and direct implementation of the state's role in the 988 hotline, including designation of hotline centers, convening of mobile crisis teams, training of staff and hiring of a statewide suicide prevention coordinator, the House Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications was told Thursday. It would impose a monthly surcharge of 20 cents per line on voice services, or a fee of 0.4% on each prepaid wireless transaction, with those fees going to the state 988 fund. The surcharge would generate about $7 million a year. Some states have passed 988 bills without surcharges, and Michigan and Illinois have bills pending that don't use surcharges and instead look at state revenue surpluses, said Patrick Fucik, T-Mobile state government affairs director. "Those funds might dry up eventually," and long-term a fee might be needed, he said. Amy Campbell, Kansas Mental Health Coalition coordinator, agreed relying on the state's general fund can mean a roller-coaster of services being provided and then cut back due to budgetary constraints. Monica Kurz, director of the Kansas Suicide Prevention Resource Center, a crisis call center, said state funding last year helped boost the capacity of the state's crisis call centers, letting more calls that originate in Kansas be answered in-state and directed to local resources. She said before that funding, about 40% of Kansans' calls to the national suicide prevention lifeline were routed out of state because of a lack of call center staffing. She said the per-phone surcharge is "critical" to keeping up current levels of service. She said a significant amount of call traffic to 911 is mental health-related and could end up being handled by 988 over time. Nick Wood, associate director of advocacy organization InterHab, urged retooling language in the bill on providing mobile crisis response services for people with behavioral health or intellectual and developmental disability needs. No bill opponents testified at the hearing.