“Today’s announcement is too little, too late for hospitals who have already cut jobs and services, for KPC Promise Hospital that already shut down and for Greenwood-Leflore that could close down by the end of the month,” Hines said. Kimberly Hughes is the co-chair of the Care4Mississippi Coalition Steering Committee, a nonpartisan health care and advocacy organization. She said the extra funding for the hospitals is helpful, but it is not the only solution. “This issue is much larger than just our hospitals—it impacts our health care providers in small towns and clinics across our state, it weighs on our economy, and it damages the health of hard-working Mississippians,” she said in a Sept. 21 press release. “It is time that Mississippi has a real conversation on closing the coverage gap by expanding our Medicaid program.”