By Emily Goodin
The Hill, January 3, 2013

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) returned to the Senate on Thursday after nearly a year’s absence.

Kirk, who had a stroke in January 2012, walked up the Capitol steps holding a cane and with the help of Vice President Biden and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Cheers rang out as Kirk began his climb. He walked into the Capitol shortly before noon, when the 113th Congress was gaveled into session.

http://thehill.com/capital-living/275411-sen-kirk-returns-to-cheers-applause

And…

Sen. Mark Kirk’s message to stroke victims: ‘Don’t give up’

By Natahsa Korecki
Chicago Sun-Times, January 2, 2013

(Sen. Mark Kirk) spoke with the Sun-Times in a sit-down interview in the U.S. Capitol one day before he plans his dramatic climb up the Capitol steps. He offered a new perspective on the Illinois Medicaid program and what it offers to those with low incomes.

He does plan to take a closer look at funding of the Illinois Medicaid program for those with no income who suffer a stroke, he said. In general, a person on Medicaid in Illinois would be allowed 11 rehab visits, he said.

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

Kirk has the same federal health-care coverage available to other federal employees. He has incurred major out-of-pocket expenses, which have affected his savings and retirement, sources familiar with Kirk’s situation said.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/17348299-418/mark-kirk-says-he-would-support-an-assault-weapons-ban.html

Comment:

By Don McCanne, MD

It was quite moving watching the live C-SPAN broadcast of Sen. Mark Kirk today, climbing the Capitol steps to the resounding ovation given to him by his colleagues in the Senate. After his severely debilitating stroke, his message to other stroke victims is, “Don’t give up,” and he didn’t.

He has had a year to think about stroke victims on Medicaid in Illinois and what the limit of a total of eleven rehabilitation visits must mean to them. This is clearly an inhumane public policy that must be changed.

But what about all of the other patients with major medical problems who do not get the care that they need because they are uninsured, or Medicaid doesn’t provide adequate access, or private insurance…

What about private insurance? Sen. Kirk has coverage through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) – a menu of private health plans. That is about as good coverage as you can get today, yet with the major out-of-pocket expenses, it has not protected his savings and retirement.

We have a much bigger problem in health care other than simply trying to figure out how we can get Medicaid patients adequate rehabilitative services after a stroke.

If only Sen. Kirk’s colleagues in the Senate and House could learn from his travails. They might begin to consider that we really do need a comprehensive health care system that takes care of all of us – an Improved Medicare for All.

In the battle for reform, remember Sen. Kirk’s words, “Don’t give up.”