JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Medicaid expansion is one of the biggest topics of the 2025 Mississippi Legislative Session with a push coming from both sides of the aisle.

Advocates are urging lawmakers to expand Medicaid in the state this year. They said many working class Mississippians fall into that coverage gap, and they’re not able to afford health insurance.

Mississippi is one of 10 states that do not have expanded Medicaid.

“In order to be ready to take care of those types of patients, it takes a lot of resources, and those resources cost money. So, we were hoping to make sure that the Legislature was aware that, you know, those resources are necessary and would be a good target for funding in the future,” said Dr. Duncan Donald, with the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH).

Medical professionals said Medicaid expansion is an investment, because it would help stabilize rural hospitals and reduce preventative illness or deaths from delayed care.

According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, around 230,000 Mississippians could have access to affordable health insurance if the Legislature closed the coverage gap.