From the outside, the relationship between a policy advocate and the legislative process is often misunderstood—flattened into closed-door negotiations aligned with self-interest. The reality is far more nuanced, and for Anne Bryant, Associate Vice President of Government Relations at Physicians Insurance, advocacy begins with a core mission: to protect, defend, and support PI’s Members. For Bryant and PI, government relations work isn’t about influencing medicine for short-term returns. It’s about reinforcing stability and safety, and balancing economic realities with patient and provider needs, all in support of a functional and sustainable healthcare system.
For three and a half decades, Bryant has been at the forefront of PI’s efforts to drive forward thoughtful legislative solutions, operating quietly at the intersection of healthcare and public policy. The program is singularly focused—on medical professional liability—as is its purpose to safeguard the legislative, regulatory, and judicial environments in which physicians practice. With respect to that aim, Bryant’s time is generally divided across three focal areas:
- Tracking Policy: Actively tracking legislative and regulatory changes to stay ahead of emerging issues impacting physicians and patient care.
- Shaping Legislation: Supporting “common sense” policies that remove barriers to care and provide physicians with a stable and secure clinical environment.
- Defending: Intervening to mitigate harmful legislation that could undermine patient care or destabilize the healthcare environment.
Nationally Recognized Government Relations
When Bryant joined Physicians Insurance on April 27, 1992, a government relations program did not exist at the company. The Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) and Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) were engaged in managing their own focus areas in Washington State. There was a critical need to prioritize medical professional liability and the legislative activity that directly impacted how physicians were covered, how claims were handled, and hospital and physician exposure when adverse events occurred. “For physicians, the consequences while practicing medicine are significant,” Bryant says of physicians’ liability exposure when practicing medicine. “Physicians Insurance understands the high stakes of our Members and works to protect, defend, and support medical professionals who carry this kind of exposure and risk, personally and professionally.”
Seeing the need for the physician perspective to be heard in liability-related policy discussions, PI stepped in to fill that gap, with Bryant leading the effort. She recalls, “There was a real need to bring visibility and our voice to medical professional liability and insurance issues that impacted the practice of medicine at the legislative, regulatory, and judicial level, so we built a program to do just that.” Bryant’s industry insights and action-oriented leadership played a pivotal role in establishing an impactful, strategic advocacy program at PI.
The scope of PI’s government relations program reflects the complexity of the environment it monitors. Medical professional liability intersects with tort law, insurance regulation, healthcare policy, and criminal statute. Bryant credits sustained partnerships across medical associations, specialty societies, and coalition-driven efforts as the key to PI’s success when translating frontline challenges into practical policy measures. Shared purpose and multi-stakeholder coordination allows for impact to extend far beyond a single company’s reach and influence. “Although I work lean and strategically for PI, I’m constantly engaging with other state and federal coalitions to magnify our efforts and make sure PI’s voice is heard,” Bryant says.
Like PI itself, the company’s government relations program originated in Washington State, then expanded into Oregon as membership grew. Today, the program is focused in PI’s core states and states with Members, and is nationally recognized, with PI holding several leadership positions on coalitions that are true drivers of policy across all 50 states plus the federal level.
Defending Members: The Core of the Work
When Bryant discusses the bills that have made the most impact, she will detail the ones that did not pass. “We spend more time defeating measures that would be harmful for the healthcare community than on any policy being passed,” she says. “We don’t pass very many bills, but we work to mitigate risk or stop bills with unintended consequences for the healthcare community all session long.”
Policies that don’t factor in practical realities often produce unintended downstream consequences across the healthcare system. Among many such issues, one with an enduring significance that remains ever-present on the frontlines for physicians and patient care is the issue of caps on non-economic damages. “Top-of-mind for me is always going to be the non-economic damages issue,” Bryant explains. “If we can establish non-economic damages to be a predictable number, it will keep premiums stable and at an affordable level. That ensures that every patient can have access to quality healthcare, including those most impacted, such as rural communities. It also ensures that high-risk specialty care is not only accessible by patients but, equally importantly, practicable by physicians.”
Unlimited non-economic damages, such as pain-and-suffering awards, create instability by making costs difficult to predict. When non-economic damage caps erode or disappear, the cost of care can become volatile, undermining system stability and predictability, which affects both providers and patients. When the costs and risks of practicing medicine become unpredictable, equal access to healthcare is significantly affected.
“My purpose is 100% aligned to PI’s core values, and therefore ongoing issues critical to our physician-Members stay on the radar long-term,” Bryant says. “We’re here to continually fight for a common-sense healthcare environment so our Members can continue to practice medicine, and in doing so, we ensure that patients can continue to have access to quality healthcare.”
When Advocacy Is Efficient and Effective
In the 2025 legislative session, Utah amended their medical malpractice law, under the Utah Health Care Malpractice Act, to provide strong protections for physicians’ personal assets, becoming a model worth watching. Under the new amendment, legislation now protects physicians’ personal assets from claims if they carry more than $1 million in malpractice coverage.1
Physicians Insurance, along with its Utah advocacy partners, advocated for the bill and is now working to replicate it in other states. Utah’s practical amendment, which clarifies personal exposure for physicians while maintaining accountability in medical malpractice claims, illustrates PI’s balanced approach to solutions-oriented advocacy, which takes economic realities into account in supporting a functional healthcare landscape that prioritizes physicians and patients alike.
“I see the primary role of a policy advocate to be that of an educator. Complex, nuanced issues are broken down into actionable knowledge, helping policymakers understand the real-world, everyday impact that beneficial or harmful policies have on physicians, their patients, and the healthcare delivery system,” Bryant says. “And PI is extremely efficient and effective. We give a lot of time and talent, though our budget is limited. Nearly all our work and impact is done in collaboration through strategic partnership models. One widespread advocacy voice benefits all who work in the medical professional liability advocacy space.”
This is especially important, given how significantly the legislative environment and the field of medicine have changed over the decades. A generation ago, many physicians were independent practice owners with direct financial exposure to every claim; now, physicians are often employees of larger health systems. However, despite their business relationship with medicine modernizing, physicians’ professional and personal accountability remain high—underscoring their need for strong, sustained advocacy.
Participation as Part of the Mission
Bryant favors a quote by Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States: “We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participates.” For more than 30 years, Physicians Insurance has believed in the power of participation—and Anne Bryant’s government relations work, engaging legislators, regulators, and healthcare leadership across the nation, continues to be a significant part of PI’s commitment to its Members and the healthcare community. For PI as a mutual company owned and led by physician stakeholders, success is measured not by publicity, but by impact—and by ensuring that policies are practical and designed to support physicians, patients, and the broader healthcare system.
1. Utah Legislature. H.B. 503, Health Care Malpractice Act Amendments. Enacted 2025. Utah State Legislature. Accessed March 30, 2026, at: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title78B/Chapter3/C78B-3-P4_1800010118000101.pdf