--- title: Jimmy Kimmel Monologue Bashes GOP Health Care Plan description: Jimmy Kimmel stepped up to tell his audience how he believed the new Republican health care plan could hurt them and their families. canonical: https://time.com/4949096/jimmy-kimmel-health-care-obamacare/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-20T02:29:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:52:22.985Z article:section: Politics og:title: Jimmy Kimmel Gives Another Heart-Wrenching Plea on Health Care og:description: "This guy Bill Cassidy just lied right to my face," Kimmel said og:url: https://time.com/4949096/jimmy-kimmel-health-care-obamacare/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32fde9ed6bd08b64/6988d7f1e76ad24a9262e8ce/jimmy-kimmel-anthony-scaramucci.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" - Season 15 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Jimmy Kimmel Gives Another Heart-Wrenching Plea on Health Care twitter:description: "This guy Bill Cassidy just lied right to my face," Kimmel said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32fde9ed6bd08b64/6988d7f1e76ad24a9262e8ce/jimmy-kimmel-anthony-scaramucci.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'We Can't Let Them do This to Our Children.' Jimmy Kimmel Gives Another Heart-Wrenching Plea on Health Care > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=8f6ef13f-727c-4ae9-aa31-152c5c7e7f3b&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Jimmy Kimmel Tearfully Reveals Newborn Son Billy Underwent Open Heart Surgery [Watch (HLS stream): Jimmy Kimmel Tearfully Reveals Newborn Son Billy Underwent Open Heart Surgery](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EffWXk7I.m3u8) (2:29)  _Published 2017-05-02. Jimmy revealed that his newborn son had successfully undergone the life-threatening operation_  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Sep 20, 2017 2:29 AM UTC Just two weeks ago, the forecast for Republicans was bleak: the GOP had dramatically failed to repeal Obamacare earlier in the summer, and reports of tension on Capitol Hill made it seem unlikely they would pull it together.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Sep 20, 2017 2:29 AM UTC As the Senate nears a deadline for a last-ditch effort to repeal Obamacare, television host Jimmy Kimmel stepped up to tell his audience how he believed the new Republican health care plan could hurt them and their families. “This new bill actually does pass the Jimmy Kimmel test,” Kimmel said Tuesday night on his show _Jimmy Kimmel Live!_ “But with this one, your child with a pre-existing condition will get the care he needs, if — and only if —his father is Jimmy Kimmel.” Kimmel’s monologue is his second on health care reform, and comes amidst a push among Senate Republicans for a vote on the Graham-Cassidy bill, the newest iteration of legislation to repeal Obamacare composed by Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy. The proposed legislation would repeal the individual mandate that requires consumers to purchase health insurance and [provide states with decade-long block spending](http://time.com/4946600/obamacare-repeal-graham-cassidy/) for health care. The Senators need 50 votes for the bill to pass, but only have until September 30th to get them. “Healthcare is complicated, it’s boring — I don’t want to talk about it — the details are confusing, and that’s what these guys are relying on,” Kimmel said. “We are all just looking at our Instagram accounts liking things, when they are voting on whether people can afford to keep their children alive or not.” “We can’t let them do this to our children, our senior citizens, our veterans, or to any of us,” he added. Kimmel’s first plea came in May, shortly after the birth of his son Billy, who was born in April with a heart condition that required immediate surgery. Kimmel delivered a tearful monologue describing the agony of learning about his son’s condition, and how it had opened his eyes to the importance of equality in the health care system. “If your parents didn’t have medical insurance, you might not live long enough to even get denied because of a pre-existing condition. If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make,”[ Kimmel said at the time](http://time.com/4767209/jimmy-kimmel-childrens-hospital-los-angeles/). Cassidy said in May that any repeal efforts [had to pass the “Jimmy Kimmel test,”](http://time.com/4769236/gop-senator-health-care-bill-jimmy-kimmel-test/) ensuring a child like Billy would have all the necessary resources for survival. But experts in the medical field who have assessed the Graham-Cassidy bill [do not believe](http://fortune.com/2017/09/19/graham-cassidy-jimmy-kimmel-pre-existing-conditions/) it would adequately cover people with pre-existing conditions like Billy. Earlier on Tuesday, Kimmel posted a photograph on Twitter working on his script with his son. “Billy’s helping me write tonight’s monologue,” he wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/jimmykimmel/status/910241650701508609) ## Transcript So this poor kid, this is what he looked like on Monday. Aw. But this is what he looked like yesterday. [ APPLAUSE ] [ INAUDIBLE ] [ APPLAUSE ] Poor kid not only did he get a bad heart he got my face [ LAUGH ] Yeah that's Jimmy Kimmel tearfully revealing on his show on Monday night that his new born son had successfully undergone a lifesaving operation due to being born with a congenital heart disease. Kimmel and wife Molly McNearny's second child together Billy Was born on April 21st but the late night host revealed a nurse quickly realized something wasn't right. Saying this, my wife was in bed relaxing, a very attentive nurse at Cedars- Sinai heard a murmur and noticed he was a bit purple, which is not common. During the 13 minute monologue, Kimmel individually thanked every nurse and doctor that helped his son. And revealed Billy's diagnosis. Watch this [ MUSIC ] They did an echocardiogram, which is a sonogram of the heart, and found that Billy was born with a heart disease. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Something called tetralogy of fallot with pulmonary atresia. Its hard to explain. Basically, the pulmonary valve was completely blocked and he has a hole in the wall between the left and right sides of his heart. Billy successfully underwent open heart surgery, and six days after he was born he was able to leave the hospital. In addition to thanking Children's Hospital of Los Angeles Jimmy spoke out about families having to navigate the health care system, watch. [ SOUND ] You know, before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease like my son was, there was a good chance you'd never be able to get health insurance because you had a pre- existing condition. You were born with a pre- existing condition. And if your parents didn't have medical insurance, you might not live long enough to even get denied because of A pre- existing condition. If your baby is going to die, and it doesn't have to it shouldn't matter how much money you make. I think that's something that, whether you are a Republican or Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right? I mean, we do. Really moving stuff, Kimmel is now on paternity leave for the rest of this week and his famous friends, including Will Arnett Anthony Anderson, Kristen Bell and David Spade will guest host the ABC show in his absence. 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