Methods and systems are provided for selectively conducting reverse-link power control and call admission control. In an embodiment, a base station identifies a set of mobile stations more likely than others to experience a dropped call. For each mobile station in the set, the base station relaxes at least one reverse-link power-control setting, to foster an increased actual and/or allowed reverse-link transmission-power level. The base station thereafter detects the dropped-call rate exceeding a first threshold, and responsively decreases the degree to which at least one setting was relaxed. The base station thereafter detects the dropped-call rate exceeding a higher threshold, and responsively drops at least one active call and/or blocks at least one new call.