Late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel has delivered an emotional monologue about healthcare and the birth of his son after returning to air following a week off.
Mr Kimmel revealed details of his son’s birth and the desperate efforts to save him after it was discovered he had severe heart defects.
Pausing at times to gather himself, Mr Kimmel described the room filling up with nurses and doctors as they realised his son wasn’t getting enough oxygen into his blood.
“I’m standing in the middle of a lot of very worried looking people,” he said, "it's a terrifying thing".
The issue – a hole in the wall between the left and right sides of his son’s heart – was successfully resolved after open-heart surgery.
“He’s doing great,” Mr Kimmel told a cheering audience.
After thanking doctors and nurses, the TV host went on to speak about the importance of healthcare funding – criticising a proposed measure from the Trump administration which would have seen the National Institute of Health stripped of billions.
The body actually saw a funding increase this week, under a compromise funding deal struck by congress on Monday, which also rebuffed the Trump administration’s earlier demand for border wall funding.
“We were brought up to believe that we live in the greatest country in the world, but until a few years ago, millions and millions of us had no access to health insurance at all,” Mr Kimmel said.
“In 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 he had a pre-existing condition.
“If your parents didn’t have medical insurance, you might not live long enough to even get denied because of a pre-existing condition.”
Mandating insurers to cover pre-existing conditions was one of the most popular elements of the ‘Obamacare’ Affordable Healthcare Act passed by the previous administration.
“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 Democrat or something else, we all agree on that right?” Kimmel said.
President Trump has vowed to retain protections for people with pre-existing conditions, but health policy experts have criticised Republican proposals for weakening protections by allowing states to opt-out and loosening restrictions on how much insurance companies can charge.
