An assemblyman and a dentist, he's helping identify Northern California bodies

LOS ANGELES TIMES--There's often little politicians can do when wildfires strike, besides comfort the residents who lost their homes and monitor emergency efforts to make sure they're getting the help they need.

California Assemblyman Jim Wood has another job.

"Most of my work is in the morgue at this point," he said. A Democrat from Healdsburg, Wood is also a dentist who is helping law enforcement identify victims of the deadly fires in Northern California. "These are my constituents," he said.

In California, Fires So Fast Hesitation Proved Lethal

NEW YORK TIMES — With towering flames bearing down, one victim delayed escape in hopes of saving his new truck — but he could not find the keys. An elderly couple slept as danger erupted, not waking until it was too late to flee down their one-lane road. Another couple, who barely missed their chance to drive away, huddled in a pool, surrounded by fire and choking smoke; he survived, but she did not.

Close to Home: The path to universal health care

Readers of The Press Democrat have seen opinion pieces on Senate Bill 562, the “Healthy California Act.” That bill, often called single-payer or Medicare for all, is being held in the state Assembly, and I have been criticized for not doing more to overturn that decision.

Let me be clear, I have always supported health care for all. I am a health care provider, chairman of the Assembly Health Committee and strongly believe that health care is a right.

Assemblymember Jim Wood’s Bills to Fight Escalating Prescription Drug Prices Approved by Senate Health Committee

SACRAMENTO—Today, two bills authored by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) to fight escalating prescription drug costs received approval by the Senate Health Committee – one step closer to becoming law and helping consumers.

AB 265 is a bill to prohibit the use of drug manufacturer coupons for brand name drugs for which there is a less expensive and therapeutically equivalent generic version. AB 315 would begin regulating pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) – middlemen negotiators between drug companies and health plans – which are currently unregulated. AB 315 passed with bipartisan support.

Senator Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Jim Wood Receive Approval for Audit of Skilled Nursing Facilities Business Operations

SACRAMENTO—Today, Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) and Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) received approval from the Joint Legislative Audit Committee for their request earlier this month that an audit be performed of the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the Office of Statewide Planning and Development (OSHPD) to determine the impact and appropriateness of related-party transactions on skilled nursing facilities’ Medi-Cal rates and reimbursements.