Julia Louis-Dreyfus urged her supporters to make universal health care a reality in a tweet announcing she had been diagnosed with the disease.
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 a “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 over the summer for departing from his usual tone to express his opposition to Republican attempts at Obamacare repeal. In May, The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host told his viewers about how Obamacare offered protections that helped cover treatment for his son’s congenital heart defect.
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,” though Kimmel said the bill failed such a test.
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, independent of Vermont, that would institute a nationwide ‘medicare-for-all’ system, the senator 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.
