U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., called his first trip to Springfield since his January 2012 stroke great, and said hes working on legislation to improve post-stroke treatment for low-income people through government programs.
Every time Im below I-80, I feel like Im in the right place on earth, talking to the people I work for, Kirk, 53, of Highland Park, told The State Journal-Register in an interview Thursday at the Illinois State Fair.
He said his condition is excellent. He walks with a cane and said fatigue is an issue, and he is still getting rehabilitation about three times a week.
Kirk said he is planning to offer legislation for what he calls the stroke agenda.
The problem is, if you have no insurance and youre low-income and youre on Medicaid in Illinois, if you suffer a stroke, you only go to a rehab specialist four times, the senator said. That means youre not going to really improve very much. I want to set a national standard that moves the country on the way to the opportunities that I had to recover.
Kirk said he has probably had more than 50 rehab sessions.
Asked about covering the cost of the extra medical care, Kirk said, I think we can set a national goal of getting stroke patients back to work, which would make taxpayers out of them again. He said he wants the Congressional Budget Office to estimate how much extra tax revenue that would generate.
Fixed on liberty
On the broader question of the Affordable Care Act, Kirk said he voted against it, continues to seek to repeal and replace the law, but he doesnt favor a government shutdown as a way to deny the program funding.
I think that overreads our mandate from the American people, he said of the shutdown idea being pushed by, among others, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
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Kirk feels 'excellent,' wants better care for stroke victims