Pittsburgh spends more on hospital care per person than any other major U.S. city, including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles. This region is also near the top in the number of hospital admissions for chronic conditions that should be managed without being hospitalized, such as diabetes or asthma. (Today)

In between two pristinely kept homes in Ingram, Stanley Biolowas Jr. lived in a decaying two-story house filled with trash. (Today)

President Barack Obama's announcement that his administration had found a way to provide free contraceptives to employees of Catholic agencies without the employer having to pay for them or refer employees to insurers was greeted cautiously by the Catholic bishops. (Yesterday)

Set against proposed 30 percent cuts in state higher education funding, Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 4 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursements looks reasonable enough. (02/10/2012)

J.P. Morgan was alleged to have been talking about yachts when he uttered his well-known financial axiom -- "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it" -- but the same is true of MRI machines and CT scanners. (02/10/2012)