Jimmy Kimmel test
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The "Jimmy Kimmel test" is a political litmus test used in political discourse in the United States during 2017 efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. First proposed by United States Senator Bill Cassidy, the test was used throughout 2017 to frame political debate over health care reform, and Cassidy's use of it in September 2017 prompted comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel to publicly attack a Senate health care bill co-sponsored by Cassidy. The resulting public debate contributed to the failure of the Senate bill.
Kimmel described the test as measuring whether, as a result of health care reform, a family would "be denied medical care, emergency or otherwise, because they can't afford it."[1]
Political efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act, commonly called the "ACA" or "Obamacare", was enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010. From 2011 to 2017, numerous attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act were made by Republicans opposed to the law, although none were successful before President Obama left office on January 20, 2017.
On March 6, 2017, House Republicans announced a proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act, the American Health Care Act (AHCA).[2] The bill was withdrawn on March 24, 2017, after it was certain that the House would fail to garner enough votes to pass it.[3] The result was in-fighting within the Republican Party.[4] However, deliberations on the American Health Care Act continued.
Birth of Jimmy Kimmel's son
William ("Billy") John Kimmel, the son of comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, was born on April 21, 2017.[5] The infant was born with a rare congenital heart defect,[6] tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) with pulmonary atresia,[7][8] which was first detected by a nurse who noticed his purplish appearance when he was three hours old. He underwent successful surgery at three days old.[9][10] Kimmel's show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, was cancelled during the entire week of April 24 without public explanation so Kimmel could spend time with his family.[11]
Creation of the Jimmy Kimmel test
Jimmy Kimmel returned to the air on May 1, 2017.[11] Kimmel chose to focus on his son's birth and health condition in his first episode back, inviting cardiac surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz onto his show to explain his son's condition.[10] During the show's opening monologue, Kimmel referenced Congress' efforts to repeal parts of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and the possibility that repeal would lead to individuals with pre-existing medical conditions losing their health insurance:
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.
— Jimmy Kimmel, May 1, 2017[11]
Kimmel's monologue received substantial attention in the news and on social media. Within 24 hours, video of the monologue was viewed over 14 million times and received over 230,000 reactions on Facebook.[12] The video was retweeted by former President Obama and former Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.[13]
On May 4, the House of Representatives passed the AHCA (which would repeal portions of the ACA), sending the bill to the Senate. On Friday, May 5, United States Senator Bill Cassidy told CNN that he would decide whether he would support the AHCA based on whether it would "pass the Jimmy Kimmel test", which he described as measuring whether a child born with a pre-existing health condition would continue to receive health care regardless of cost.[14][15] Following Cassidy's comments, Kimmel invited Cassidy onto his show to discuss the Senate version of the bill. Cassidy appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! via satellite on May 8, 2017.[1][16] While interviewing Cassidy, Kimmel attempted to establish a clearer definition of the "Jimmy Kimmel test".[16]
Since I am Jimmy Kimmel, I would like to make a suggestion as to what the Jimmy Kimmel test should be. I’ll keep it simple. The Jimmy Kimmel test, I think, should be: No family should be denied medical care, emergency or otherwise, because they can’t afford it.
— Jimmy Kimmel, May 8, 2017[16]
Cassidy responded that Kimmel was on the "right track", and then shifted the discussion to how to pay for insurance coverage.[1][16]