Dear Editor:

     Recently, a reader submitted a letter to this paper suggesting that the organization, Mississippi Health Care Access, targeted sixteen conservative legislators on the issue of Medicaid expansion.

     This information is patently false.

     The Mississippi Health Care Access Coalition did not purchase or place the ads referenced in the letter.

     Mississippi Health Care Access was developed to educate the public on the benefits of Medicaid expansion. In this effort, it maintained a website that connected people to information and promoted educational hearings held by partner organizations around the state. The success of the effort is evidenced by the fact that independent groups linked to the website.

     Medicaid expansion remains a huge opportunity for Mississippi and demands continued dialogue. We will continue to work to advance this important issue and will aggressively seek to reject any clearly inaccurate or ill-informed effort to deface the good work of the coalition.

Sincerely,

Alton Cobb

Chairman, Mississippi Health Care Access Coalition

Mississippi State Health Officer (Retired)

Former Executive Director Mississippi Division of Medicaid.