Why not choose new chief from within?

I attended the community forum about selecting a new chief of police at Westgate Center on June 4, and it was very informative. I thank the staff and all the speakers.

Attendees learned about the search for a new police chief and were asked for their input and the qualifications they felt were important in selecting a new chief. We learned that the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies gives Columbus its highest rating and that several other Ohio police departments send their officers to our academy for training.

I think it would be best to look first in our own police department for fully qualified candidates.

We need someone with extensive knowledge and experience dealing directly with Columbus and its many neighborhoods. If we can’t find a top-notch individual in our own highly rated police department, then — and only then — should the search look elsewhere. However, a statewide or national search would not produce an individual with 15-20 years of experience learning about our neighborhoods and their unique cultures.

We talk about our great city and its special qualities, so why not promote from within and have a much smoother transition? (Note: It seems to work for City Council). A bonus would be a savings to the city in both time and money.

My greatest fear is that this search will be politicized to the detriment of the citizens.

C.J. Leppert, Columbus

Investigate PBM practices at federal level, too

The seemingly arbitrary assignment of drugs to one tier over another is another method by which insurance companies using PBMS gouge consumers and states.

I changed Medicare Advantage plan providers this year and found a significant difference in tier assignment of one of my generic drugs. My previous insurer assigned my generic drug to tier 3 with a co-pay of $40. My new plan assigns the same generic drug to tier 1 with a co-pay of $7. Why the difference?

The old plan partnered with CVS to run its PBM. Almost immediately after the announcement of the partnership the quarterly earnings rose. The negotiated lower drug cost might have been lowered for the insurer but the tier assignment ensured the company would increase its profits by maintaining the generic drug co-pay, thus not passing the lower drug cost along to the consumer.

I suggest that the use of PBMS in other government programs, including Medicare and Tricare, also be investigated. If PBMS are gouging states with Medicaid reimbursements, then you can be assured they are doing the same at the federal level.

Jan Hepburn, Gahanna

Val-christopher Tekaucic, Columbus

Home delivery of milk isn’t exactly newfangled

I got a kick out of Walmart’s proposal to deliver refrigerated items directly to a customer’s kitchen. Of course security to the homeowner is the primary concern for executing their plan, but alas very few things in life are actually new and innovative.

Having a birth date of 1953, I easily remember the Diamond dairy man knocking on the front door and yelling out “milkman!” before proceeding to the refrigerator. He would leave what he thought was the appropriate amount of eggs, butter and milk for the week before saying “thanks’’ to anyone within shouting distance that would actually care that a non-member of the household had paid a brief visit to our kitchen.

He would leave a bill on the table that I believe was paid monthly. Those were different times in which many people never locked their homes. Good luck to Walmart if they can pull that off in current times.

Jack Cardi, Columbus