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Objectives. (1) To test whether public psychiatric bed reduction may increase suicide rates; (2) to investigate whether the supply of private hospital psychiatric beds—separately for not‐for‐profit and for‐profit—can substitute for public bed reduction without increasing suicides; and (3) to examine whether the level of community mental health resources moderates the relationship between public bed reduction and suicide rates.

Methods. We examined state‐level variation in suicide rates in relation to psychiatric beds and community mental health spending in the United States for the years 1982–1998. We categorize psychiatric beds separately for public, not‐for‐profit, and for‐profit hospitals.

Principal Findings. Reduced public psychiatric bed supply was found to increase suicide rates. We found no evidence that not‐for‐profit or for‐profit bed supply compensates for public bed reductions. However, greater …