Jimmy Kimmel 'apologises' for saying children in America should have healthcare

'That was insensitive - it was offensive - and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me'

Incredibly, there are people out there who reacted to a man emotionally thanking those who saved his baby son's life and making the simple statement that no child should die if they don't have to, that his country needs a healthcare system installed to protect those children, with rage and criticism.

Yet, that was the reaction of some to Jimmy Kimmel's impassioned speech about his newborn son, Billy, who recently underwent open-heart surgery, with the host now returning to address those critics.

Letting audience and viewers know that Billy is doing well, while thanking all who donated to the hospital who cared for him in Los Angeles, he then shared some reactionary headlines to his previous monologue.

That includes New York Post's "Jimmy Kimmel's obscene lies about kids and medical care" and The Washington Times' "Shut up, Jimmy Kimmel, you elitist creep".

"I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been called an 'out of touch Hollywood elitist, creep' this week," he commented. "Which – I have to say – I kind of appreciate because, when I was a kid, we had to drink powdered milk because we couldn’t afford the liquid variety. Our orange juice came frozen out of a can, it would squeeze out."

"My father – on the rare occasion we took a family trip – would hide our dog in the car and then smuggle it into the motel room to avoid paying a two-dollar pet fee. So after that, my dream was to become an 'out of touch Hollywood elitist'. And I guess it came true."

Kimmel then (less-than-sincerely) gave presumably the apology his conservative critics were demanding: "I'd like to apologise for saying that children in America should have health care. That was insensitive - it was offensive - and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

The host then rebuffed Newt Gingrich's claims that Kimmel's monologue was misleading since hospitals will not turn down care in an emergency by noting: "Yes, it is true that, if you have an emergency, they will do an operation, and that’s terrific if your baby’s health problems are all solved during that one visit."

"The only problem is – that never, ever happens. We’ve had a dozen doctor’s appointments since our son had surgery. You have a cardiologist, a pediatrician, the surgeons, some kids need an ambulance to transport them – and that doesn’t even count parents who have to miss work for all this stuff."

Unfortunately, Kimmel's words come at a time when the House of Representatives narrowly passed a healthcare bill aimed at repealing and replacing the ACA (Affordable Care Act). It now moves on to the Senate.