Cassidy: 'Status Quo Does Not Pass the Jimmy Kimmel Test'

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said the healthcare system is currently failing the "Jimmy Kimmel test," a phrase he coined for the comedian's son who was born with a heart defect.

"The status quo does not pass the Jimmy Kimmel test," he told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Thursday. "Status quo is failing the Jimmy Kimmel test."

Kimmel made an impassioned plea on behalf of Obamacare after his son was born with a heart defect in May. The next day, Cassidy argued for a "Jimmy Kimmel test" to ensure a child born with a heart defect would have access to care.

"I ask, does it pass the Jimmy Kimmel test? Will a child born with congenital heart disease be able to get everything she or he would need in the first year of life? I want it to pass the Jimmy Kimmel test," Cassidy said of a GOP healthcare plan in May, according to The Hill.

Cassidy was asked Thursday if the "skinny repeal" currently being considered in the Senate would guarantee coverage for everyone. He replied he and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., were pushing for an amendment that would "absolutely pass the Jimmy Kimmel Test." It would grant states federal funding and independence to allocate to repeal, reform, or simply fund Obamacare programs.

"If the skinny repeal is the vehicle that we need to pass in order to get Graham-Cassidy, that ultimately plays to an end," the senator said.

"You can't look at it as a single step, kind of, in isolation."

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