MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Small fees added to monthly phone bills are helping fund 988 suicide prevention crisis lines in a dozen states, a new study shows. 

The approach could be a model for the nation, researchers contend.

“Mental health advocates have recommended the use of telecom fees to fund 988, but until now, we haven’t fully understood if they are making a difference. The answer is empirically 'yes’ — states that have these telecom fees put more money toward funding suicide prevention,” said study lead author Jonathan Purtle.  

Purtle is a professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health in New York City.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline debuted in 2022, and recent research suggests it is helping reduce suicide rates. Callers who dial 988 are routed to trained responders at call centers in every state. 

Most states fund these centers through state budget appropriations, but 12 states fund them through small fees (about 30 cents per line per month) tacked onto residents' phone bills.

However, “most states are funding 988 through non-fee mechanisms," Purtle noted in a news release. 

In the new study, "we wanted to look at state budgets in the past six years to get a sense of how these services are funded, given the growing policymaker and public concern about suicide and mental health crises,” he explained.

Purtle's team analyzed annual budgets for all 50 states and Washington, D.C., from 2021 through 2026. They specifically looked at funds allocated for suicide prevention and mental health crisis services.

State funding for these services rose overall during the study period — from an average of $1.05 per resident in 2021 to $6.55 in 2025, the research showed. 

The proportion of state budgets devoted to these crisis services also rose, from 0.022% to 0.079% over those years.

Phone bill fees appeared to have real impact: Money devoted to 988 doubled in states that had enacted such fees, compared to those which hadn't.

“The finding that states with telecom fees allocated significantly more funding for suicide prevention suggests that such fees are a promising strategy to enhance crisis service infrastructure,” Purtle said.

A state's suicide rate didn't always reflect how much money it spent on suicide prevention, the study found. However, it was often tough to tease out the "suicide prevention" portion of overall state allocations for mental health, so exact numbers are elusive.

“As a result, our findings are likely an underestimate of what states spend on suicide prevention," Purtle said.

The research was published Sept. 11 in JAMA Network Open and was funded by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

More information

There's help on recognizing the signs of suicidal tendencies at the National Institute of Mental Health.

SOURCE: NYU School of Global Public Health, news release, Sept. 11, 2026