Phoenix, U.S.A. – The Affordable Care Act is a hot, debatable topic right now. Whether it is one you support or not, it generates awareness regarding the need for affordable healthcare in our country. It has become nothing less than a necessity to find a solution to the healthcare problems we face as a country.

According to data released by Kaiser EDU, Health expenditures in the United States neared $2.6 trillion in 2010, over ten times the $256 billion spent in 1980. This has created a dilemma for the tens of millions of Americans who cannot afford necessary medical tests because they either don’t have insurance at all, or have a policy with a restrictively high deductible.

Dr. Scott Hastings, Family Practice doctor in Show Low, Arizona, founded BidOnHealth.com, a website that allows consumers to purchase medical tests at an affordable price. The BidOnHealth.com model follows the ever so popular trend of purchasing items online at a discounted rate. Anyone who has used a website like Priceline.com will find this concept familiar. Priceline is best known for their bidding option where the consumer makes choices within certain parameters, offers the amount they are willing to pay, and then enters a credit card number in hopes that their offer is accepted.

BidOnHealth.com uses a similar approach for medical tests and healthcare services. Consumers choose their geographic location along with the tests or services they need, and make offers based on what they are willing to pay. Using this bidding option, consumers can save up to 90% off the average retail price of the tests or services they are purchasing. However, bidding is not a requirement at BidOnHealth.com; tests and services can also be purchased immediately at an incredible discounted rate of 60% off.

BidOnHealth.com is contracted with reputable laboratories, radiology facilities and providers to ensure a quality end-product. The services and facilities remain constant whether the consumer is saving 60% or 90%. This is one instance where the old adage, “you get what you pay for,” does not ring true.

BidOnHealth.com has been recognized across the country for their innovative approach to healthcare.

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For the past couples of years, Americans have lost the advantage of currency value due to rising national debt and struggling economy. Ten years ago, traveling wouldn’t hurt pockets so much because the US dollar was stronger than most foreign currencies. When that isn’t the case, like present day, there are some tricks to traveling to get the vacation you want without breaking the bank:

Enroll in Mileage/ Hotel Royalty Program
Most of these memberships do not require you to sign up for a credit card; however, you will earn benefits much faster with one. Earning miles while spending on necessities such as gas and groceries sounds like a win-win situation. Most members will at least score a domestic round trip ticket within a few months of becoming a member. For example, Citi AAdvantage will give you 30,000 miles if you spend $1000 within the first 3 months. The dollars spent and the actual miles flown will help you claim reward tickets faster than you can imagine. Your best bet is to sign up with the airline based in your city or your preferred airline.

Hotel Bidding
The idea of using a website such as Priceline.com may not appeal to many people because of the fear of ending up with an undesirable property; however, the result can surprisingly be a great deal. It is not uncommon to score a five star hotel in Las Vegas for bidding as low as $120 or a four star property in Miami during high season for just $100 (keep in mind you’ll still have to pay taxes and other applicable fees on top of your bid). These deals are so good, and you won’t find it from the hotels’ website. The downside of hotel bidding is there’s no cancellation, so it may not be a good idea if you are uncertain about taking a vacation or if you have a specific hotel in mind. What everyone should know about this bidding system is it’s not completely blindsided. You can choose the location where the hotel is located in (ie. Midtown, New York) and then you choose the star. If you select a 5 star hotel in Midtown, the website will not send you to a 3 star hotel in Brooklyn. It’s either they take your bid, or they don’t.

Know Your Choice of Transportation
Whichever transportation method you decided to go with, stick with it. For example, if you head to Europe, you may want to consider buying a rail pass and use the rail system for most of your trip. Swiss Pass, for instance, is a great buy for those going to Switzerland since it covers not only rail networks, but it also grants you free access to local transportation systems (bus, boat, trams, etc.) and more than 400 museums! Going back and fourth between car rental and rail will end up costing you unnecessary expense, plus you’re not really making the most out of anything here.

Make Your Own Itinerary
The good thing about coming up with your own itinerary, other than saving yourself some big bucks, is only seeing and doing the things you want. To get trip ideas, visit escorted tour company websites to see what their itinerary includes in terms of places and activities. After looking at a few of them, pick out the ideas that stand out to you the most.

Compare
Always shop around. Never purchase something from the first website you see, chances are you’ll see the exact same product being cheaper on another website. And once you make a changeable purchase or reservation, it’s recommended that you check back once in a while to see whether or not the price has dropped.

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On January 23, Priceline.com revealed that it will kill off the popular Priceline Negotiator, a character played by William Shatner, in its new national TV campaign.

Mr. Shatner has been Priceline.com’s celebrity spokesman for 14 years and remains under contract to the company.  He first stepped into the role of The Negotiator in 2007.  Priceline.com said it decided to kill off The Negotiator character in order to focus consumers’ attention on its published-price hotel service, which is the fastest-growing segment of Priceline.com’s hotel business.  Priceline.com said it will continue to offer its Name-Your-Own Price hotel service.

“The Priceline Negotiator has become very strongly associated with the Priceline.com brand and the concept of negotiating to get a deal on a hotel room,” said Brett Keller, Priceline.com’s Chief Marketing Officer.  “However, Priceline.com customers don’t have to negotiate themselves to get a deal.

Without bidding, they can choose from over 200,000 quality hotels around the world, with thousands of them on sale every day at rates we’ve negotiated for them.  In fact, in the past three years, Priceline.com has more than tripled the number of hotels available through our published-price hotel service.”

Keller continued, “We felt it was necessary to go to extremes to grab the attention of every consumer in America and drive home the message that you don’t have to negotiate to save money on a hotel at Priceline.com.  We know that The Negotiator has a lot of fans, and we hope that everyone understands this was something that just had to be done.”

The new campaign opens with The Negotiator coming to the rescue of a family whose bus is teetering on a bridge.  Heroically, The Negotiator manages to get them safely off the bus – and find a hotel for the night.  However, The Negotiator himself is unable to exit the bus before it plunges off the bridge.  Future spots in the campaign explore the aftermath of the crash.

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