Using the 1115 Waiver to Advance Health Equity
This episode of the podcast focuses on how Medicaid 1115 waivers can be used as powerful tools to advance health equity by allowing states to test innovative approaches that address not only medical care, but also social drivers of health such as housing, food security, and transportation. Featuring, James Hickman, Founder, Hickman Strategies LLC and Dora Barilla, DrPH, President, Co-founder, HC2 Strategies, the conversation highlights that while policy and funding are important, relationships, trust, and community partnerships are ultimately the foundation for building connected communities of care and improving health outcomes for underserved populations.
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About Our Guests
James Hickman
Jim Hickman is the founder of Hickman Strategies LLC and a nationally recognized leader working at the intersection of healthcare policy, innovation, and system transformation. For more than three decades, he has helped organizations move from policy intent to real-world implementation, with a focus on improving access, equity, and outcomes in Medicaid and other public-sector systems.
He serves as a Venture Partner at Suncoast Ventures, advising health plans and entrepreneurs on policy strategy, go-to-market alignment, and scaling solutions within complex care environments. He also advises Health Inno New Mexico, helping design structured pathways to test and evaluate innovation in real-world clinical settings.
Jim is a senior advisor to the Camden Coalition’s National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs and supports CalAIM implementation across California, working with providers, plans, and community organizations to operationalize whole-person care.
His work is grounded in a simple idea: technology enables, but relationships transform—and lasting change happens when policy, financing, and community delivery systems move together.
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Dora Barilla
Dr. Dora Barilla is an esteemed leading voice on community-based healthcare in California and across the country.
With a career in community/population health with a focus on public health, Dora’s seminars and keynote presentations inspire a bigger vision for health care leaders. She breaks old paradigms and invites health and community executives to face change with open-minds, collaboration, and inclusion.
Dora’s healthcare leadership & policy expertise empowers health and community clients to embrace new frameworks that support the ever-evolving process of better health outcomes and greater community involvement. Her insight comes from 34 years of working with local and state public health departments while representing Providence, Adventist Health and Loma Linda University Health Systems.
In addition to HC², she is an Assistant Professor/Health Policy & Leadership for Loma Linda University and currently serves on the Board for the San Antonio Regional Hospital, the Inland Empire Community Foundations, and Medical Teams International. Dora is the President/Founder of Partners for Better Health and the Co-Chair of Stakeholder Health.
As a consultant, public speaker, and thought-leader. Dora works with health systems, government and faith and community-based organizations who are committed to removing disparity from vulnerable populations and are mission-driven to play a role in improving their health and wellbeing.
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