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Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus poses in the press room at the 69th annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
Actress and comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus made an unexpected entrance into America’s health-care debate Thursday, announcing that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and urging her supporters to “make universal health care a reality.”
Louis-Dreyfus wrote that “1 in 8 women get breast cancer” in a statement posted to her Twitter account. “Today, I’m the one.”
The actress wrote that she has “fantastic” insurance through her union, but that “not all women are so lucky, so let’s fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality.”
Louis-Dreyfus’ tweet comes days after the failure of the latest Republican health-care proposal. On Tuesday, Senate Republicans officially shelved the latest iteration of their plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, after Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, declared her opposition to the proposal.
Louis-Dreyfus is not the only celebrity to open up to her fans about America’s health-care system. Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel made headlines earlier this year for departing from his usual tone to express his opposition to Republican attempts at Obamacare repeal. In May, the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host told viewers about his son’s treatment for a congenital heart defect. He said Obamacare could extend protection to children like his son whose parents could not afford treatment.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who co-sponsored the latest Senate health-care bill, has said that any GOP plan to repeal Obamacare should pass the “Kimmel test,” a term the senator coined. Kimmel retorted on Twitter that the “Kimmel test” requires that a bill not deny any family medical care because they cannot afford it.
“Not only did Bill Cassidy fail the Jimmy Kimmel test, he failed the Bill Cassidy test,” Kimmel said on his show, according to Vox.
Democrats in the Senate are increasingly rallying behind universal health care. A third of the Senate Democratic caucus has signed onto a bill proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, that would institute a nationwide “Medicare-for-all” system, Sanders said this month. In August, high-profile Democrat and possible 2020 presidential contender Sen. Kamala Harris of California said she would co-sponsor the legislation.
Correction: Jimmy Kimmel in May said Obamacare could extend protection to children like his son whose parents could not afford treatment. An earlier version misstated his comments.
