In a letter-to-the-editor published by the Portland Press Herald on August 27, Maine AllCare board chair Karen Foster responded to recent articles by reporter Joe Lawlor highlighting the “byzantine” system of medical billing and how it affects Maine people. The letter points to an inherent flaw in our broken health care system—the idea that profit-making has a place in health care—and how a universal, publicly financed system is what we need.
Karen Foster was one of the founders of Maine AllCare in 2010 and rejoined the board in 2020. She currently serves as board chair. She had a long career at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maine, where she held several senior management positions, and also worked as an independent consultant specializing in non-profit organizational structure, planning and governance.