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.
