Ohio lawmakers are having a hard time wrapping their brains around the mechanism for funding the new 988 suicide and mental health support line, which launches in July.

Calls and texts will be accepted through 988, which will be in addition to, rather than replacing, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

That number received 3.3 million calls, texts or web chats in 2020.

The new line should make it even easier for those who are struggling with mental health issues to remember how to connect to someone who can help. And we should do all we can to make that a simple task.

Oddly, some Ohio lawmakers have decided to nitpick on how to pay for the service.

Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, believes the cost of such a potentially lifesaving program is not worth it.

Comparing apples to oranges, Gross asked bill sponsor Rep. Gail Pavliga, R-Atwater, “Can you explain at all why our Ohio program’s so … much more expensive as compared to the Utah program?”

That comparison comes from reporting by the Ohio Capital Journal.

Pavliga, of course, was able to explain the difference. But the exchange highlights potential challenges in developing a long-term funding structure for a program that will save lives.

Lawmakers should have little trouble developing a funding mechanism for 988.

Rather than seizing the opportunity to squawk about “unfunded” federal mandates, Ohio lawmakers need to buckle down and get this one done.