# Plain Language Summary: 9-8-8 Implementation Act of 2022

This bill creates a comprehensive system to improve how the country responds to mental health and suicide crises. The centerpiece is establishing 9-8-8 as a national three-digit suicide prevention hotline number (similar to 911), making it easier for people in crisis to get help quickly. The bill funds this hotline with $240 million per year through 2027 and ensures it can handle calls from LGBTQ individuals, people of color, and other groups that have historically had trouble accessing mental health services.

Beyond just the phone line, the bill builds out an entire crisis response network. It funds local call centers with $441 million to hire staff, upgrade technology, and improve operations so they can actually answer calls when people reach out. It also creates mobile crisis teams—groups of mental health professionals who can respond to emergencies instead of police officers, helping keep people out of the criminal justice system when they're experiencing a mental health emergency. The bill requires states to spend at least 10 percent of their mental health funding on crisis services like these call centers, mobile teams, and crisis stabilization facilities where people can get immediate help without going to a hospital emergency room.

The bill also establishes a new coordinating office within the federal government to oversee all these different crisis services and make sure they work together smoothly. It funds training programs to expand the mental health workforce so there are enough counselors and crisis responders available. Additionally, it launches a pilot program to test partnerships between mobile crisis teams and law enforcement, aiming to shift how communities respond to mental health emergencies—moving away from police-only responses toward having trained mental health professionals handle these situations. Overall, the bill represents a major federal investment in making mental health crisis services more accessible, responsive, and effective across the country.

9–8–8 Implementation Act of 2022

Cárdenas, Tony

9-8-8 Implementation Act of 2022 This bill modifies provisions to increase access to behavioral health services, with a focus on crisis services and the 9-8-8 telecommunication system. (The 9-8-8 system provides callers with mental health or suicide crisis support and resources through the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and is scheduled to take effect by July 16, 2022.) The bill reauthorizes through FY2027 and revises the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline program and requires a national suicide prevention media campaign. In addition, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) must establish standards for a behavioral health crisis continuum of care that health care providers and communities may use in responding to individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The continuum must include emergency treatment, stabilization, and related services. The bill expands Medicaid and other insurance coverage for such services. The bill further expands Medicaid coverage for behavioral health services. This includes permanently allowing coverage of certain community-based mobile crisis services and exempting some short-term stabilization services from coverage restrictions that apply to institutions for mental diseases. Additionally, the bill establishes (1) an office within SAMHSA to coordinate behavioral health activities; and (2) various grants, including a pilot program for mobile crisis care teams that respond to behavioral health crises rather than law enforcement and a capital improvement program for certain behavioral health facilities. The bill also reauthorizes through FY2027 and expands certain workforce programs for behavioral health providers. It also addresses training for emergency services dispatchers and coordination of the 9-1-1 system with the 9-8-8 system.