Behind the Coverage: Meet Our Government Relations Team

This year, in each issue of The Agent’s Advocate, we will be giving you an inside view of the experience and capabilities of the teams that work tirelessly behind the scenes to provide your clients with superior coverage and services.

To kick off this new column—Behind the Coverage—we proudly introduce you to our Government Relations team. TDC Group leads the industry with a dedicated, award-winning Government Relations team and the only medical liability advocacy program covering all 50 states and the federal level. Our in-house team has been actively advocating on behalf of medical professionals in the U.S. since our founding in 1976.

Most other carriers tend to have one staff member who works in claims or the legal department that can only dedicate part of their time to government relations work. Our Government Relations team has no focus other than being committed to legislative, regulatory, and judicial advocacy on a full-time basis.

The sheer volume of legislative activity in the country could be enough to stop most carriers’ government relations efforts in their tracks—but not our Government Relations team. With more than 150,000 bills introduced each year in state and federal legislatures, our team constantly monitors legislation that impacts your clients and advocates on their behalf. More than 30 states have enacted medical liability reform laws to promote access to healthcare; however, these laws are constantly under attack. Our team works continuously at the legislative level to counter such threats—as well as on the judicial level with a robust amicus curae program—and defend these hard-won protections. 

Because TDC Group encompasses more product lines than just medical professional liability insurance, our advocacy work extends to support all facets and clients/customers of our strategic business units—The Doctors Company, TDC Specialty Underwriters, and Healthcare Risk Advisors.

All of these facts cannot be overstated. There is truly no comparison to be made between other carriers and TDC Group. When we say we are relentlessly committed to supporting medical liability reform and to safeguarding access to patient care, we mean it.

So, without further ado, here’s an introduction to our Government Relations team and the critical work they perform to protect and support your clients and healthcare practitioners throughout the nation.

Government Relations Leader

Elizabeth Healy
Vice President,
Government and Community Relations

Vice President Elizabeth Healy began her career in government relations more than 30 years ago and has been involved in political campaigns and fundraising, grassroots organizing, state government, and legislative advocacy in the United States and the United Kingdom. Elizabeth directs political and advocacy strategies nationwide and in Washington, DC, for TDC Group. She joined The Doctors Company over 15 years ago after already working with the organization as an external partner.

Elizabeth is also responsible for corporate charitable giving and is the Executive Director of The Doctors Company Foundation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social science from California State University and studied international public policy at King’s College, University of London.

Government Relations Team Members

Dennis Chiu, JD
Senior Government
Relations Specialist

Laura Lawson
Executive Assistant

Jaci Runge
Political Operations
Specialist

Remi Stone, JD
Director

James Willett, JD
Director

Around the nation our Government Relations team has built diverse political relationships with a broad coalition of healthcare interests, trade associations, political organizations, and public policy makers that work with us to support medical liability reform and other key initiatives of importance to TDC Group and your clients.

For example, in working with our coalition partners in 2024, we saw the culmination of our advocacy efforts to defeat attempts at the ballot box and in state legislatures to repeal existing medical liability reform laws in such states as California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, New York, Virginia, and Washington.

Key Advocacy Successes in 2024

• California: Defeated a bill that would have effectively skirted the MICRA cap on damages in all cases involving elders and a veto request was granted on another bill that would have lowered the standards of proof in elder abuse cases.
• California: Provided financial support to defeat Measure C, which would have imposed an extraordinary new services tax burden on healthcare providers.
• Colorado: Negotiated a legislative resolution to thwart ballot measures that would have 1) eliminated all caps on noneconomic damages in wrongful death and personal injury cases with few exceptions, and 2) permitted access to most medical records, effectively gutting protected peer review.
• Florida: Defeated a bill that would have significantly increased the damages recoverable in a wrongful death action.
• Idaho: Established the Idaho Healthcare Access Amicus Committee to address a court decision that greatly expands recklessness as a cause of action to evade the state’s medical malpractice damage cap.
• Michigan: Advocated successfully against a complex bill that would have effectively eliminated the noneconomic damages cap.
• New York: Launched a successful three-pronged grassroots campaign inclusive of all of TDC Group’s members and clients to urge New York Governor Hochul to veto the 2024 iteration of the Grieving Families Act.
• New York: Preserved the Medical Indemnity Fund, which helps children injured by medical malpractice, that was underfunded and at risk of being suspended indefinitely.
• Virginia: Defeated legislation that would have removed the state’s cap on medical liability damages where the alleged malpractice involved a patient 10 years of age or younger.
• Washington: Defeated bills that would have significantly increased prejudgment interest amounts awarded to plaintiffs.

Wins During the Last Election Cycle

TDC Group actively engages to support candidates for public office for election or re-election that are open to supporting and preserving medical liability reforms. During the election cycle, we participated in a total of 280 races for public office. Of those, 250 candidates won their elections—an 89 percent win rate.

How Else Can Your Clients Get Involved?

While the election may be over for 2024, it’s crucial for healthcare practitioners like your clients to engage with elected officials to emphasize the importance of medical liability reforms on an ongoing basis. We urge your clients to reach out to their elected officials and introduce themselves to lawmakers and their staff. Offering themselves as a resource to provide perspectives on healthcare ideas and issues that matter can make an impact. Rather than coming with a specific “ask” each time, building a two-way relationship can be a more successful approach to helping influence policy decisions. 

As leaders in the medical community, your clients’ experience provides an excellent, humanizing viewpoint to build trust. It may take time and patience to achieve meaningful results from their interactions with policymakers, so it’s a good idea for them to connect with their representatives and establish a rapport with them and their staff. The sooner they’re able to start a dialogue, the more valuable their input will be as they navigate turning ideas into policy.

Together, we can help prevent dangerous legislative and regulatory actions from being enacted by educating policymakers. Learn more about how your clients can take action and get involved to make their voices heard and advocate for medical liability reform.

If you or your clients have questions or would like to know more about TDC Group’s advocacy efforts, visit thedoctors.com/advocacy or email the Government Relations team at GovernmentRelations@thedoctors.com.