AUGUSTA – Eleven people have been proposed for an advisory council on health systems development as authorized by Maine’s fledgling Dirigo Health initiative.

Announcing his nominations, Gov. John Baldacci cast the panel as a key component in the effort to control health care spending.

“In Maine we spend over $5 billion each year on health care, but without a thoughtful plan about how we allocate our resources and what investments we should make to improve quality and access to health care,” Baldacci said in a statement.

Nominees include Dr. Maroulla Gleaton of Palermo, an ophthalmologist who serves as president of the Maine Medical Association; Norman Ledwin of Holden, who is president of Eastern Maine Healthcare in Bangor; Steve Farnham of Mapleton, who is executive director of the Aroostook Area Agency on Aging; psychologist Brian Rines, who is the mayor of Gardiner; Christine Hastedt of Freeport, a policy specialist at Maine Equal Justice Partners; and Andrew Coburn of Yarmouth, who is director of the Institute for Health Policy at the Muskie School of the University of Southern Maine. Also nominated are Dr. Robert Keller of Northport, an orthopedic surgeon who chaired the 1995 Health Care Reform Commission in Maine; Dr. Lani Graham of Portland, who previously served as director of the state Bureau of Health; Edward Miller of the American Lung Association, who is former president of the Maine Public Health Association; and John Carr, president of the Maine Council of Senior Citizens from York.