Confusion is the one certainty in proposed West Penn-AGH transaction.(proposed acquisition of Allegheny General Hospital by West Pennsylvania Healthcare System)

There has been one topic on the minds of the regions top health care executives lately: the Western Pennsylvania Healthcare System's proposed purchase of Allegheny General Hospital and its three sister hospitals.

On Tuesday, UPMC Health System launched its latest salvo in its campaign to halt the deal, releasing a consultant's report that forecasts doom whether the accord succeeds or fails. The feuding and public relations counterattacks reached a fevered pitch this week, leaving the principals unbowed in their positions - and much of the public in the dark as to which scenario is right.

The topic intruded, for example, into a Tuesday evening meeting of local community leaders who had met to study ways to reduce the costly competition between the …