Home Q News Entertainment Jimmy Kimmel brings son to show, makes plea for Children’s Health program...

Jimmy Kimmel brings son to show, makes plea for Children’s Health program funding

412

ABC/Randy HolmesJimmy Kimmel returned to Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday night after a week off to be with his seven-month-old son, Billy, who underwent a second heart surgery last week, and he returned with a special surprise guest — Billy himself.

Kimmel introduced the youngster, saying, “Look, he’s fine everybody!  He may have pooped, but he’s fine.”

The host got choked up thanking last week’s guest hosts, joking, “Daddy cries on TV but Billy doesn’t. It’s unbelievable.”

Kimmel, who used Billy’s illness this spring to make a series of impassioned pleas to Congress to preserve Obamacare and improve affordable health care access, used Billy’s appearance Monday night to make a similarly passionate plea for Congress to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Plan. 

The plan, known as CHIP, covers uninsured children whose families make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but don’t have access to affordable health insurance. It covers nine million children and Congress failed to reauthorize funding for the program in September, despite the program’s broad bipartisan support.

“I’m asking you, Billy’s asking you to make two phone calls you shouldn’t have to make.  Jam the House and Senate phones tonight and tomorrow, as long as it takes.  Tell them to take a break from tax cuts for a minute and fully fund CHIP immediately,” he said.

Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.