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Jimmy Kimmel shares raw moments from son's hospital experiences ahead of election

The late-night host shared footage of what his 3-year-old son Billy has endured with a congenital heart defect to stress the importance of coverage for pre-existing conditions.
/ Source: TODAY

Jimmy Kimmel's son Billy has been through a lot in only three years since being born with a congenital heart defect.

The late-night host shared a raw look at Billy's hospital experience from only hours after his birth until now on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Thursday night, as he pleaded for people to vote in order to protect the Affordable Care Act, which provides healthcare coverage to people like Billy with pre-existing conditions.

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A montage of photos and videos compiled by Kimmel's wife, Molly, showed what Billy has endured since being born with a congenital heart condition called tetralogy of Fallot, a hole in the wall of his heart that prevented him from getting enough oxygen to his blood.

"This is what it looks like to have a 'pre-existing' condition," the text reads alongside of picture of an infant Billy hooked up to a thicket of wires in a hospital bed.

Kimmel's wife, Molly, and their son Billy in a moment from a photo montage the late-night host shared on his show Thursday.
Kimmel's wife, Molly, and their son Billy in a moment from a photo montage the late-night host shared on his show Thursday. Jimmy Kimmel Live

"I want to bring us back to focus on something we can't afford to forget, and that is healthcare," Kimmel said in introducing the video.

"The vast majority of this country agrees that health insurance should cover Americans with pre-existing conditions, but the Republican party, and that includes the president and members of Congress, the only plan they have is to do away with protections for pre-existing conditions.

"If they're allowed to do that, millions of people are going to suffer."

Billy Kimmel was born with a heart condition that has required three surgeries and dozens of doctor's visits.
Billy Kimmel was born with a heart condition that has required three surgeries and dozens of doctor's visits. Jimmy Kimmel Live

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument on the the future of the ACA on Nov. 10, a week after the presidential election, when it will determine whether the ACA can continue to be enforced after challenges by a group of red states led by Texas.

Four hours after Billy was born, he was in the neonatal intensive-care unit. He has since had three heart surgeries, including one when he was 3 days old, at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

"Families go broke trying to keep their loved ones alive," the video reads. "People die because they cannot afford to live."

The montage also includes adorable clips of Billy today as a happy young boy playing with his parents and older sister.

"We are raising him to fight for less fortunate kids," it reads. "Americans take care of one another. Vote with your heart."

Kimmel first spoke about Billy's ordeal in 2017 during a tearful monologue on his show while also appealing to lawmakers attacking the ACA.

"If your baby is going to die — and it doesn't have to — it shouldn't matter how much money you make," he said.