Bidding on Health Care

How much does that procedure cost? A new site allows you to compare prices.

By Elaine Porterfield |   November 2009   |  FROM THE PRINT EDITION

Illustration by Daniel Bejar

Artist and craft-show vendor Shane Harris of Tacoma lived with the pain of abscessed teeth for years because he didn't have dental insurance. The pain would wax and wane, but it was always there "like background music." He knew he'd need the teeth extracted, followed by implants, but never had enough cash on hand to get the work done.

Then he found PriceDoc. The online service, which originated in Seattle last February and went national last summer, intends to be to medical, dental and alternative care what Priceline and Hotwire are to travel: places where consumers can go online to see the full cost for specific care and procedures, bid for these needed services and then either have the winning provider contact them or call the provider themselves to learn the price for paying in cash.

That's right: place a bid for anything ranging from obesity surgery to a student sport physical to Lasik eye surgery. Regarding quality concerns, consumers can view the provider's résumé, board certification-or lack thereof-and even follow a link posted on every page to state records to check a provider's background for past problems. Of course, as with any health care provider, whether recommended by a friend or found via a referral service, it's up to patients to do their homework.

Harris, 43, discovered the service via a TV commercial. He calls it a godsend. "I knew a couple of my teeth had to come out and I wanted implants. I heard from a couple of friends with implants that the [original] tooth had to be taken out right, to leave enough bone for the implant."

So he carefully read the qualifications and prices listed by the dentists on the site and then called one, Dr. Randal Swanlund of the South Sound Dental Implant Centre in University Place, and scheduled an appointment. He had the teeth extracted last summer, and is scheduled for the implants when he's healed sufficiently. "He was very professional, very understanding," Harris says of Swanlund, including not judging Harris for going so long without proper dental care. Plus, he says, there were no hidden costs or fees: "It costs me exactly what was on the [PriceDoc] list."

Swanlund, for his part, has had good luck with advertising his services, including the exact costs, on PriceDoc. It seems a sensible way to both tap the power of the web and reach out to people who need dental care but

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