Hickman Strategies LLC

02/10/2026

Let's try that again .... Who Invests in the Organizations Transforming Medi-Cal? — New Op-Ed - https://mailchi.mp/hickmanstrategies/calaim-field-notes-year-in-review-12899311

02/10/2026

Who Invests in the Organizations Transforming Medi-Cal? — New Op-Ed - https://mailchi.mp/hickmanstrategies/calaim-field-notes-year-in-review-12899303

01/19/2026

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

That arc doesn't bend on its own. It bends when policy matches purpose, when systems are designed around people—not paperwork—and when we choose accountability over complacancy.

Honoring Dr. King means recommitting to the unfinished work.

12/24/2025

Christmas Eve in healthcare isn't a holiday for everyone.

Right now, across California:

→ Care coordinators are making sure someone has a warm meal and a bed
→ Case managers are answering calls that can't wait until Thursday
→ Community health workers are checking on the folks everyone else forgot
→ Crisis teams are responding when other doors are closed

To the CBOs staying open.
To the MCP partners fielding urgent requests.
To the county staff making exceptions because policy doesn't cover everything.
To everyone who chose this work knowing the hours wouldn't be convenient:

Thank you.

12/23/2025

2025 Year in Review - https://mailchi.mp/hickmanstrategies/calaim-field-notes-year-in-review

11/12/2025

Last month I moderated a healthcare innovation panel in Albuquerque with executives from UnitedHealthcare, Presbyterian Medical Group, UNM Health, and Lovelace Health System.
They didn't offer platitudes. They shared how they actually decide on innovations under real constraints.

The big insight: Small markets with serious constraints often produce the most pragmatic innovation—not despite the limitations, but because of them.
New Mexico is emerging as a smart validation pathway for healthcare technology companies before scaling to larger markets like California:

• 800,000 Medicaid members across 4 managed care organizations
• Nearly $700 million deployed to venture capital since late 2022
• Infrastructure assets like PROJECT ECHO (UNM's validated telementorship model) and HealthInno NM (ecosystem connector where I recently joined as advisor)

One of the most powerful insights came from discussing doula programs. A doula supports 30-40 births annually—unit economics look terrible compared to an app. But the outcomes tell a different story: meaningful reductions in preterm births and NICU admissions for populations where nothing else has worked consistently.

Technology enables. Relationships transform. Start with the willing. Build trust as infrastructure.
Read the full analysis: https://mailchi.mp/hickmanstrategies/fall2025-12898371

On October 28th in Albuquerque, I moderated a panel at the HealthAI Summit with healthcare executives making billion-dollar decisions under real constraints: Andrew Peterson (UnitedHealthcare Community & State), Dr. Denise A. Gonzales (Presbyterian Medical Group), Dr. Dusadee Sarangarm (UNM Health),...

11/11/2025

The Possibilist Fall 2025: Small Markets, Big Innovation - https://mailchi.mp/hickmanstrategies/fall2025-12898371

08/28/2025

Women’s health can’t afford to wait for progress to arrive in sequence.
We need movement *and* infrastructure—at the same time.

👉 The movement is the field.

See how communities, founders, and investors are building women’s health infrastructure now:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/movement-field-building-womens-health-infrastructure-through-hickman-iigec

07/16/2025

https://mailchi.mp/hickmanstrategies/summer2025

🚀 Summer insights from The Possibilists! Medicaid policy shifts, CalAIM's next moves, healthcare innovation under new challenges, and my exciting new partnership with Suncoast Ventures.

👉 Check your inbox and stay ahead!

12/19/2024

Gratitude for friends, partners, and all that we accomplished this year. - https://mailchi.mp/hickmanstrategies/gratitude-12816002

08/27/2024

Healthcare Take-Aways from the 2024 DNC - https://mailchi.mp/hickmanstrategies/politics-and-health-policy-whats-on-the-menu-12805007

07/11/2024

Politics and Health Policy - What’s on the Menu? - https://mailchi.mp/hickmanstrategies/politics-and-health-policy-whats-on-the-menu