EP 25 - Justin James

In today’s podcast, I spoke with Justin James, who is the current CEO of HIF health insurance fund. HIF was the first major Australian health fund to declare support for medicinal cannabis treatments and offer rebates to members through its partnership with WA-based Little Green Pharma, and it stands to be one of the first health insurers to support the therapeutic use of psilocybin for its members. Justin has taken a different tack from some of his more conservative peers and has been outspoken in his support for the scientific exploration of psychedelic substances as medicines. In today’s podcast We Discuss; Justin’s professional and academic background, His support of medicinal cannabis and HIF’s partnership with little green pharma, His engagement with the press Medcon 2022, the stats around poor mental health in Australia and his commitment to explore ‘emerging therapies’ as a way to potentially mitigate some of this burden possible timelines for the future provision of psychedelics in Australia.. ..and much more! Justin James has extensive experience in the private health insurance and finanical services industries. Prior to becoming chief executive of HIF in May 2020, he spent 8 years with Bupa where he had senior executive roles including as director of customer growth and director of conduct and risk. Before moving into the private health service industry, Mr James held several senior executive and leadership roles across financial services in Australia including at the National Australia Bank, Commonwealth and ANZ Bank. He holds an eMBA from the Australian Graduate School of Managment, a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Indigenous Partnerships from Charles Darwin University, and completed the Social Entepreneurship programme with INSEAD in Singapore.