Dr. Dan Jones, past national president of the American Heart Association, speaks at the Patient Advocacy Day news conference at the Capitol, emphasizing the urgent need for Medicaid expansion. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Several health care organizations gathered at the Capitol Thursday to advocate for patients and call on legislative leaders to expand Medicaid. 

“Forty-seven years after I began my practice in Laurel, (it’s) 2025, there are still thousands and thousands of Mississippians who don’t have access to health care,” said Dr. Dan Jones, former vice chancellor of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Jones was joined by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. 

Advocates said there is “no time like the present” to take advantage of a state-federal program that would bring in billions of federal dollars, as 40 other states have done since the Affordable Care Act made it an option in 2014. 

Expanding Medicaid in Mississippi would provide health insurance to tens of thousands of low-income working Mississippians whose income is too much to qualify for Medicaid under the state’s strict eligibility requirements but too little to afford private insurance from the marketplace. 

As it stands, Mississippi has one of the country’s strictest income requirements for Medicaid. Childless adults don’t qualify, and parents must make less than 28% of the federal poverty level, a mere $7,000 annually for a family of three, to qualify. More times than not, that means that working a full-time job counts against an individual – despite anti-expansion critics arguing that Medicaid should only apply to those who work.

House and Senate Medicaid committees passed expansion “dummy” bills on Wednesday ahead of legislative deadlines, meaning the issue is alive, but no details have been fleshed out as lawmakers say they’re waiting to hear what a Trump administration will bring. 

Meanwhile, Gov. Tate Reeves continues to publicly oppose the policy, which he derisively calls “welfare.”

Expansion will face all the problems it faced last year – too few votes in the Senate, plus disagreements over the income threshold and whether or not to include a work requirement – with the added issue of a federal administration in transition.

Kimberly Hughes, Government Relations Director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, speaks at the Mississippi Capitol alongside patient advocates urging lawmakers to expand Medicaid in 2025. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Neidre Fears, an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteer, shares her experience with the coverage gap during a Medicaid expansion advocacy event at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson on Friday, Jan. 30, 2025. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Kimberly Hughes, Government Relations Director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, center, listens as Neidre Fears speaks during a Medicaid expansion advocacy event at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson on Friday, Jan. 30, 2025. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Becky Williams, Miss Mississippi, voices support for Medicaid expansion during the Patient Advocacy Day news conference at the Capitol on Jan. 30, 2025. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Dr. Dan Jones, past national president of the American Heart Association, speaks at the Patient Advocacy Day news conference at the Capitol, emphasizing the urgent need for Medicaid expansion. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Leonard Papania of Oceans Healthcare speaks on the importance of expanding Medicaid to improve healthcare access for vulnerable Mississippians during an advocacy event at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson on Friday, Jan. 30, 2025. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Advocates gather at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson on Jan. 30, 2025, to push for Medicaid expansion, sharing personal stories and highlighting the need for improved healthcare access. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Advocates gather at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson on Jan. 30, 2025, to push for Medicaid expansion, sharing personal stories and highlighting the need for improved healthcare access. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Correction 1/31/2025: This story has been updated to reflect Dr. Dan Jones’ correct title.

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Sophia, a New York native, covers community health with a focus on women’s and family health care. In 2023, she graduated with a master’s in journalism from Northeastern University, where she served as editor-in-chief of the Boston Scope. Her multimedia work has been recognized by the National Press Photographers Association and the New England chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She has also worked for the global nonprofit, Girl Rising, and the documentary group, The Disability Justice Project.