Jimmy Kimmel returns from paternity leave to discuss health care with Sen. Bill Cassidy
Kimmel's plea for people with pre-existing conditions received many responses.
— -- Jimmy Kimmel returns tonight after a week of paternity leave, following the birth of his son, and he plans to pick up the conversation about health care in America that he started.
One of Kimmel's guests will be Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana.
Last week, Cassidy, who is also a physician, coined the term "the Jimmy Kimmel test" while discussing a new standard for health care reform.
"I ask does it pass the Jimmy Kimmel test," Cassidy told CNN. "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 ... even if they go over a certain amount?"
Later, he tweeted, "Senate must fulfill #KimmelTest. Cover for pre-existing conditions, adequate coverage. But in a fiscally conservative way that lowers cost."
Cassidy's remarks came just days after Kimmel delivered an emotional opening monologue last Monday about his newborn son William, who was born with a heart defect that required surgery three days after he was born. He will have to undergo another open-heart procedure within the next three to six months.
During his monologue, Kimmel made a plea for politicians, both Republican and Democrat, to make sure all Americans have access to medical care, especially those with pre-existing health conditions.
Hillary Clinton was one of the first politicians to respond. "Watch & prepare to tear up. Thanks @jimmykimmel for sharing your story & reminding us what's at stake w/health care," she tweeted.
Former President Barack Obama also mentioned his signature health care plan, the Affordable Care Act, in a tweet to Kimmel.
"Well said, Jimmy. That's exactly why we fought so hard for the ACA, and why we need to protect it for kids like Billy. And congratulations!" Obama wrote.
Cassidy is the latest politician to respond to Kimmel's plea. Last week on CNN, he touted his own health care plan, formed with fellow Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and four other co-sponsors, which proposed to care for people with pre-existing conditions by "expanding the risk pool so that those who are sicker, if you will, are in a pool of those who are younger and healthier."
Kimmel's other guests tonight will be Zach Galifianakis and Tracee Ellis Ross, with music from Logic.