--- title: Health Care Bill Must Pass 'Jimmy Kimmel Test,’ Senator Says description: Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said he's basing his support on a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare on "the Jimmy Kimmel test" canonical: https://time.com/4769236/gop-senator-health-care-bill-jimmy-kimmel-test/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-05T18:49:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:46:57.178Z article:section: Politics og:title: GOP Senator Says Health Care Bill Must Pass 'The Jimmy Kimmel Test’ og:description: Kimmel's tearful monologue about his infant son's heart surgery struck a cord og:url: https://time.com/4769236/gop-senator-health-care-bill-jimmy-kimmel-test/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17d51d5d3af0d94d/6988cc34fb4eac86aa891dc8/gettyimages-644285892.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy Holds Town Hall Meeting In Lafourche Parish og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: GOP Senator Says Health Care Bill Must Pass 'The Jimmy Kimmel Test’ twitter:description: Kimmel's tearful monologue about his infant son's heart surgery struck a cord twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17d51d5d3af0d94d/6988cc34fb4eac86aa891dc8/gettyimages-644285892.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # GOP Senator Says Health Care Bill Must Pass 'The Jimmy Kimmel Test' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f6ddf628-87b6-41df-8c7f-0741b631abc2&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson May 5, 2017 6:49 PM UTC  Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) speaks during a town hall meeting on February 23, 2017 in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) speaks during a town hall meeting on February 23, 2017 in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Jonathan Bachman—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson May 5, 2017 6:49 PM UTC Jimmy Kimmel’s [tearful monologue](http://time.com/4762882/jimmy-kimmel-baby-heart-surgery/) about his infant son’s heart surgery struck a cord with at least one member of Congress. Republican Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy said Friday that he’s basing his support on a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare on “the Jimmy Kimmel test.” “I ask, Does it pass the Jimmy Kimmel test?” Cassidy [told CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/05/politics/senator-cassidy-health-bill-jimmy-kimmel-test-cnntv/). “Would the child born with a congenital heart disease be able to get everything she or he would need in that first year of life … That they would receive all of the services even if they go over a certain amount?” > [](https://twitter.com/CNNnewsroom/status/860492041284853760) The House passed a [health care bill](http://time.com/4766850/health-care-vote-trumpcare-bill-specifics/) Thursday to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The bill will now be sent to the Senate, where it faces an [uphill battle](http://time.com/4767856/health-care-vote-senate-republicans-mitch-mcconnell/?xid=homepage) to pass into law. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4769236/gop-senator-health-care-bill-jimmy-kimmel-test/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4769236/gop-senator-health-care-bill-jimmy-kimmel-test/"},"headline":"GOP Senator Says Health Care Bill Must Pass 'The Jimmy Kimmel Test'","datePublished":"2017-05-05T18:49:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:46:57.178Z","description":"Jimmy Kimmel's tearful monologue about his infant son's heart surgery struck a cord with at least one member of Congress","url":"https://time.com/4769236/gop-senator-health-care-bill-jimmy-kimmel-test/","keywords":["Congress","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17d51d5d3af0d94d/6988cc34fb4eac86aa891dc8/gettyimages-644285892.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17d51d5d3af0d94d/6988cc34fb4eac86aa891dc8/gettyimages-644285892.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy Holds Town Hall Meeting In Lafourche Parish","caption":"Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy Holds Town Hall Meeting In Lafourche Parish","creditText":"Jonathan Bachman—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4769236/gop-senator-health-care-bill-jimmy-kimmel-test/","name":"GOP Senator Says Health Care Bill Must Pass 'The Jimmy Kimmel Test'"}}]}] ```