Sen. Kirk says stroke changed perspective on Medicaid

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) said his debilitating stroke has sparked a new interest in the experience of people on Medicaid.

In an interview published Wednesday, Kirk said that most Illinois residents insured through the low-income health program would be eligible for just 11 rehabilitation sessions following a stroke.

"Had I been limited to that I would have had no chance to recover like I did. So unlike before suffering the stroke, I’m much more focused on Medicaid and what my fellow citizens face," Kirk told the Chicago Sun Times. 

"I will look much more carefully at the Illinois Medicaid program to see how my fellow citizens are being cared for who have no income and if they suffer from a stroke," Kirk said.

Kirk, 53, will return to the Capitol Thursday for the first time since a stroke left him almost unable to move the left side of his body in January 2012.

Doctors say a blocked artery caused the ischemic stroke. Kirk has spent most of the last year in rehabilitation, on a treadmill.

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