Experts say California’s providers tend to shun regions with lower pay

California’s severe shortage of primary care doctors is among the pressing health care issues that will be examined by a new statewide commission bringing together leaders in health, education and workforce development.

Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, chairman of the Assembly Health Committee, is among the two dozen people on the California Future Health Workforce Commission who will convene over the next 15 months with the goal of drafting a master plan for bolstering the state’s health workforce. The first of its kind in the state, the commission will emphasize primary care, mental health and care for the aging.

“The current system we have isn’t really sustainable,” said Wood, who was a dentist in Cloverdale before joining the State Assembly. ”As our population ages, we need to make sure we have the right people in the right places to take care of them.”

The commission is co-chaired by Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California, the largest health education and training system in the country, along with Lloyd Dean, president and CEO of state health care giant Dignity Health....

Read Martin Espinoza's full Press Democrat article