And, yes, at the margins there will always be tough decisions, but fundamentally no one can both believe in the American health care system and the professionals who provide that health care who believes in proper management believes you should sacrifice basic quality of care to the decision made by an accountant to make the bottom line of an HMO bigger.

CNN: Transcript: Clinton speaks on patients' bill of rights

His advice: Have an accountant or attorney help each year to make sure the "I's are dotted and the T's are crossed, " he says.

WSJ: Do You Need a Crummey Trust?

Unless top executives or enough other employees complain to their plan administrators, most plans won't make it possible for workers to take advantage of the new provision, says Adam Wolf, an accountant and financial planner in Jacksonville, Fla.

WSJ: Family Value: Is It Time to Convert

For instance, earnings is an accountant's concept: a clever finance man, it is said, can make a company's earnings come out at whatever he likes.

ECONOMIST: Shared values