Upon his return to late night television after paternity leave, Jimmy Kimmel welcomed Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy to his show to discuss something that resonates with millions of Americans: health care. Prior to taking the weeklong hiatus, the Live! host delivered a moving monologue about the medical attention that saved his newborn son's life — and could reportedly become less affordable under the American Health Care Act. In response, Cassidy devised a plan to test whether the GOP's plan would provide sufficient care for families who couldn't immediately afford it. Needless to say, Kimmel was curious to know more.
Cassidy is both a lawmaker and former physician. In fact, he co-founded the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic, which provides both medical and dental care to Americans who are working, but uninsured. Last week in an interview with CNN, he described the Jimmy Kimmel Test, his method for judging a health care plan. "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," he asked. "Even if they go over a certain amount?" Simply put, he continued, he wants to ensure that Americans receive life-saving care they need, regardless of expense.
Though the senator clearly has his own qualms with the GOP's AHCA, he and Kimmel still disagreed on a few key points regarding affordability and tax breaks.
During the segment, Cassidy explained what kind of health care plan he'd like to see pass the Senate and urged viewers to call their lawmakers, whether Democrat or Republican.
We've got to fulfill President Trump's contract lowering premiums with coverage that passes the Jimmy Kimmel Test. If we do that, we get an American plan — not Democrat, not Republican, an American plan — and that's where we need to be.
Though Kimmel was flattered to have a test named after him, he had some strong suggestions for the senator.
The Jimmy Kimmel Test, I think, should be no family should be denied medical care, emergency or otherwise, because they can't afford it ... Is that over-simplifying it?
Cassidy claimed that paying for such a test poses one challenge: how does America pay for it? Kimmel had an answer to that, as well. He suggested the GOP doesn't give tax cuts to millionaires like him. Regardless of the details Cassidy and Kimmel disagreed upon, it's heartening to realize that American health care doesn't have to be a partisan issue. Both men, who clearly have different political ideologies, had a productive discussion about the ways government should approach health care and America needs more discourse of that nature.
