A minister collapsed at the Mississippi State Capitol on Wednesday while standing with fellow clergy members pleading with lawmakers to expand Medicaid coverage to some of the state’s poorest residents.

The Rev. Darryl Magee, senior pastor at St. Thomas Missionary Baptist Church in Bolton, was carried away from the building by ambulance after experiencing a medical emergency. He was resuscitated by doctors at the Capitol and rushed to Baptist Medical Center, where he was awake and with family on early Wednesday afternoon.

The emergency halted a press conference, where about 50 clergy members from different denominations were advocating for Medicaid expansion. Dozens of people watched silently in the rotunda while doctors worked to save the pastor’s life. Several bystanders hugged others or wiped tears from their faces, and many ministers prayed for Magee as he was being tended to.

Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who holds enormous sway over the Medicaid expansion debate, was being addressed by those speaking at the press conference. After Magee collapsed, Hosemann watched from the third-floor railing while responders revived the pastor.

“Providing affordable health care for hard-working and vulnerable Mississippians is a matter of life and death,” Jason Coker, the president of the nonprofit Together for Hope, said shortly before Magee collapsed. “All the clergy here today are asking our government, the government of Mississippi, to choose life.”

The harrowing moment at the Capitol occurred as the Republican-controlled Senate considers legislation that overwhelmingly passed the Republican-controlled House in February to expand Medicaid coverage to the working poor. Senate Medicaid Chairman Kevin Blackwell, a Republican from Southaven, is expected to release a separate expansion proposal in the coming days.

As Easter Sunday approaches, Bishop Ronnie Crudup Sr., the senior pastor of New Horizon Church International in Jackson, urged lawmakers to remember that a key lesson from the religious holiday was that Jesus sacrificed himself to benefit other people.

He specifically asked the 52-member Senate to set partisanship aside and approach Medicaid expansion, a policy some conservative Republicans oppose, in the same manner. 

“I call upon the Senate to inconvenience itself, to be willing to make a sacrifice, so that those that are lacking in this state can get their due share,” Crudup said. “So their families can be stronger and the state of Mississippi will be better because those folks are healthier.” 

Mississippi only offers Medicaid to families who make up to 28% of the federal poverty level – the federal minimum. However, thousands of Mississippians make more money than 28% of the poverty level, but don’t make enough money to afford health insurance.

Experts estimate that 123,000 uninsured Mississippians would gain coverage under the expansion plan that passed the House. That number includes the 74,000 people under the poverty level and an additional 49,000 uninsured adults whose income is between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty level.

“I know log truck drivers that this bill could help,” Heath Ferguson, the lead chaplain for Mississippi’s Baptist Health System, said during the press conference on Wednesday. “I know small-town folks that this could help. I know that those who work from barber shops to our tire shops who need this help. And I also know lots of small-church pastors that need this help tremendously.”

As emergency responders worked to save Magee’s life, the group of clergy joined hands with others gathered at the Capitol for a prayer circle.

“I pray now, God, for a favorable outcome for Pastor Magee,” state Sen. Gary Brumfield, D-McComb, prayed. “We pray that you would move in this situation … We pray, too, God, that you would move in this Senate, that you will meet the needs that people are crying out for in our state.”

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