Harvard officials questioned whether the Attorney General read too much into Fineberg's letter.

Wrinn said the University has not ruled out the possibility of the HMO using "Harvard" in its name.

"We're nowhere near that point," he said.

Rather, he said, Fineberg's letter was meant to initiate a discussion about the most appropriate way to use the Harvard name, if it is used at all.

"We will say what we believe what the use of the name would be and any terms that might be attached to it. But there isn't anything specific," Wrinn said.

He added that the University had not addressed the issue of Harvard Pilgrim's name earlier "because it was not appropriate."

"Harvard Pilgrim is in transition right now," Wrinn said. "You deal with these things as they come up."

Wrinn said the University has become more stringent in regulating the "Harvard" name since Harvard Pilgrim's founding in 1969.

Wrinn pointed to the University's recent announcement that Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, a non-profit doctors' group, would not be allowed to continue using the Harvard name when its three-year license expires at the end of this year.

"Vanguard is different because when the use of Harvard's name came into the mix [with them], we were actually licensing it," Wrinn said.

But the state charges that because Harvard has not raised the issue before, "the University promoted as well as acquiesced in this use by participating in the founding of the Harvard Community Health Plan, now Harvard Pilgrim, under that name," the suit reads.

Fineberg's letter invites the state to contact the University's general counsel Anne Taylor to begin discussions.

Wrinn said last night the state has not yet contacted Taylor or other Harvard attorneys.