On Aug. 25, Rep. Thomas Shields faulted both the plan to use ads to promote Dirigo and the grant provided by the Maine Health Access Foundation to support this marketing effort. His letter asserted that the “foundation is controlled by Gov. Baldacci appointees who believe that promoting health care with this dividend is defined as paying for ads for Dirigo.” This statement is incorrect and misleads Sun Journal readers about the foundation’s board.

The Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) is the state’s newest and largest independent private nonprofit foundation. As noted by Rep. Shields, MeHAF was created in 2000 when Anthem purchased Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine, but the foundation has no affiliation or ties with Anthem. MeHAF is governed by a statewide board. Nine of the 14 current trustees were appointed by Attorney General Andrew Ketterer during Gov. King’s administration. New trustees are elected by the board with input from the attorney general. The governor does not appoint trustees, nor does he have a role in overseeing board appointments.

We are always interested in identifying thoughtful individuals who support the MeHAF mission as potential candidates for our board. Anyone can learn more about the foundation, and in particular about the qualifications for board service by visiting our Website at www.mehaf.org

Wendy J. Wolf,

executive director,

Maine Health Access

Foundation, Augusta

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