Jimmy Kimmel Offers Update on Son's Pre-Existing Medical Condition in Effort to Get People to Vote
Jimmy Kimmel is sharing his personal life experiences as a way to encourage people to vote in the upcoming election. The talk show host offered an update on his and his wife Molly McNearney's 3-year-old son, Billy's, health battle during Thursday's Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Billy was born with a congenital heart condition and had to undergo three heart surgeries after his birth.
"I want to bring us back to focus on something we can't afford to forget, and that is health care," Kimmel told his audience. "The vast majority of this country believes that health insurance should cover Americans with pre-existing conditions."
Explaining the need for affordable health care, and for it to be a topic of discussion in the election, Kimmel then shared a compilation of videos and photos sharing his son's story. The emotional clip shows Billy in the NICU, at his many hospital visits throughout his three years of life, along with messages from McNearney explaining the need for health care to cover pre-existing conditions.
"Families go broke trying to keep their loved ones alive," she writes. "People die because they cannot afford to live."
"Moms, don't forget. Please vote," another message reads before showing video of a happy Billy living his best life. "We are raising him to fight for less fortunate kids. Americans take care of one another. Vote with your heart."
Kimmel and McNearney also share 6-year-old daughter Jane. The TV personality is also a father to two older kids, Kevin and Katie, from a previous relationship. He first talked about Billy's condition in a 2017 monologue on his show.
In 2018, Kimmel told ET that his son's health struggles shifted his perspectives.
"It has made me appreciate my life more," he expressed. "It makes me more thankful in general. Hear more of what he shared in the video below.
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