Alternatives to HealthCare.Gov

For those having difficulty with HealthCare.Gov who simply want to get some estimates of what coverage might cost and which plans are available on the Health Insurance Marketplace, here are a couple web sites worth checking out:

http://www.thehealthsherpa.com/

http://www.valuepenguin.com/

Please note these sites are *unofficial* and do not replace a real application through the Health Insurance Marketplace at HealthCare.Gov.

Gas Price Indexes

A friend requested some gas price indexes, so here's a brief survey of the main ones:

GasBuddy.com

Gas Prices @ MSN Autos (Beta)

http://gasprices.mapquest.com/

Gas Price Watch

AAA Fuel Gage Report

Healthcare Price Indexes

In my online travels, I've found a few different interesting providers of healthcare price or cost information on the Internet:

1. PriceDoc at http://www.pricedoc.com/ - seems to be the most comprehensive of all, although its network did not offer a lot of locations particularly close to me, it does seem to have a lot of listings nationwide. Also offers a unique "Priceline" style feature where you can name a cash price, and they'll try to find a physician/professional who will accept your offer.
2. Healthcare Blue Book at http://HealthcareBlueBook.com/ - While they don't offer prices for specific practitioners, this site is great for getting an idea of the average "fair" price for many medical procedures in your own zip code. (Seems to offer nationwide coverage.)
3. Out Of Pocket at http://outofpocket.com/OOP/Default.aspx - Not sure this site is very helpful for the average person. It seemed to be little more than an interface to Google at the time of my review.