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Jimmy Kimmel's Humanity Underscores Heartlessness Of GOP's Approach To The Poor

Jimmy Kimmel's Humanity Underscores Heartlessness Of GOP's Approach To The Poor

On Monday, Jimmy Kimmel, host of the late-night ABC talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," delivered a stirring monologue to open his show. With tears in his eyes, the host revealed that his wife had recently given birth to a beautiful baby boy.

But soon after, a nurse realized there was something wrong.

"Billy was born with heart disease," Kimmel said. "At just three days old, he would need open heart surgery."

The surgery was successful, though horrifying. "It was the longest three hours of my life," Kimmel said. The child will require multiple other procedures in his early life, as well.

But this was more than a personal moment for Kimmel, who took the time to defend other parents who might find themselves in a familiar situation someday, without the cushion of TV money.

"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," he said. "And if your parents didn't have medical insurance, you might not even live long [enough] to even get denied because of a pre-existing condition."

Choking back tears, he continued, "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're a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?"

Sadly, the answer is no.

Just hours before the monologue aired, Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) told CNN's Jake Tapper that sick people should pay more for health insurance ― an opinion reflected in the newest proposed version of a Republican health care bill.

Brooks, who is one of the more than 30 congresspeople who make up the so-called Freedom Caucus, a far-right contingent within the House of Representatives, made his comments in response to a claim by President Donald Trump. Trump stated Monday that he wanted to carry over Obamacare policies that protect people with pre-existing conditions.

But the newest version of the bill wouldn't do that, a fact Brooks emphasized.

"My understanding is that it will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher health care costs to contribute more to the insurance pool," he said, "thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives."

Of these people who live "good lives," he then added, "They're healthy, they have done the things to keep their bodies healthy, and right now those are the people who have done things the right way and are seeing their costs skyrocket."