Internet Aid Cut: How the Loss of FCC's ACP May Worsen the Mental Health Crisis

The looming end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and the alarm it has triggered among dozens of experts I've talked to, reveals that this federal program is about much more than internet access. Amid a rising mental health crisis, limited access to broadband has been clearly linked with negative health outcomes for America's lowest-income communities. So what does a $30-per-month subsidy mean for the mental health of America's lowest-income communities? The number of US adults with a mental illness has increased every year for nearly a decade, going from 43 million in 2015 to over 59 million in 2022, according to surveys conducted annually by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. With that increase has come a normalization of treatment, which has unfortunately lead to a shortage of mental health care providers. The mental health industry has embraced telehealth, and online therapy is the default treatment. The end of the ACP could cut many American's off from that critical access to treatment.