Questioned by Smith, his daughter Sandy Reynolds blames the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Lexington, Ky., for giving her father the wrong dosage and causing his death. Remarkably, the hospital agrees. We call it doing the right thing. The apology made a difference and defuses Reynolds' rage. So far, so good.
Chronic illness is another paradox.
That's a challenge for HMOs, which like to talk about preventive care but cringe when the illness is long-term. Disease management programs have cut hospital visits for patients with congestive heart failure by 60 percent. One in 10 such patients die these days, compared with 1 in 5 before the program began. After Humana refuses to pay for Caitlin's ongoing physical therapy bills, her father sues. Lawyers then discover that not only Caitlin but dozens of other such children have been cut loose by Humana in order to free more money for its disease management program, which apparently does not include kids who need help learning to walk.