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flstf - As a doc, I can honestly say I do not know what one person will pay for a service. The prices are dictated by the insurance companies. Usually your copay will be set at a certain level so you are only required to pay a small fee. The insurance company will dictate what they think is "fair and customary" for a certain procedure or level of care in your area. It's pretty easy to for them to say that a performing a procedure, like a colonoscopy, should be a certain fee based on the cost needed for medicines, equipment, etc. It's a lot harder to figure out how your doc should be compensated for managing your diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression. Is my knowledge, training, thought about you and your medical problems worth as much as the service provided by the person who does a procedure?
As far as finding a good doc, I'd say ask around amongst your friends. If one of them has a doc that they like, go see them. You have to feel comfortable with the person who is treating you. We often ask people to share some of the most personal things about themselves they have -- if you don't feel comfortable sharing those things, your doc will not be able to doing everything they can to give you good care. I cannot say that pharmacists in particular would be able to give you a good idea about good physicians. Although I am a physician, I cannot honestly say I speak with pharmacists (outside of my hospital) all that much. When you call most pharmacies nowadays, you just leave your prescription on an answering machine.
If you are looking for relatively cheap care that is likely to be pretty good, go to a resident run practice at your nearest teaching hospital.
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