Sidecar Health Reviews 

Sidecar is TRASH. If you want to over pay for a discount card or a negotiator sidecars the way. If you want them to ever cover any procedure or ER visit don’t count on it until you’ve met your full deductible. Looking up codes and researching where to go isn’t a thing until the deductible has been met. Your better off with out insurance then this overpriced negotiating trash!

I have been my picking up medications at the Kroger pharmacy and pays with sidecar care without any issues.
It's been a seamless transaction without any issues.
Besides, Sidecar always informs me of the savings I have accrued by using the pharmacy that sells medications cheap.

Loving my Sidecar Health plan. It's honestly the best health plan I've ever had through a job. I love being able to see any doctor and finally have freedom of choice. I also love making money if I am smart about where I go for prescriptions and other services. Last year I made over $500. It's kind of unreal. The customer service is really great - I get quick responses all the time. And the best part is knowing that I am totally covered in an emergency situation - I never have to pay for anything above my deductible if I end up in an emergency. What??? How is this real? Best health insurance on the market, hands down. I really don't know how I would ever go back to a traditional plan where you get huge bills in the mail a month after you go to the doctor.

Switching insurance can be scary and I’ll admit I was extra nervous about Sidecar, but this plan has been a total game-changer for me and my family. Everything is incredibly easy to navigate and becomes even easier once you’ve used it a few times. After being on it for a while now, I think this is how insurance should be -- totally transparent about costs and the best customer service ever.

Love this insurance. So much better than BCBS, UNITED HEALTH, they've won me over.

Going to the doctor with Sidecar Health brings nothing but anxiety and fear.

They market it like the benefit is paid, but it may not be paid if it isn’t preventative. So you’re paying out of pocket for those services until your deductible is met. You can call them and ask, “will this be covered by the benefit amount?” They’ll reply, “we can’t say, it depends on how it’s billed.”

If additional services are required as part of your care plan, you’ll need to stop in your tracks and call/message Sidecar to see if they cover or have another provider they prefer. So you likely don’t end up doing it, because that just makes a simple process complicated.

If you have sidecar and need to use it, congrats, you’re now a benefits specialist. Prepare for reviewing paperwork and shopping for the best price.

This healthcare puts roadblocks in front of your care plan and can completely derail it.

If you need an X-ray and your doctor office provides it, you’ll have to tell them to send the order somewhere else. The nearest place may be 1 hour away. Then the doctors office is going to look at you like you’re an alien, because who does that?

I have been a Sidecar Health member for over two years through my employer. This plan has not only saved money for both my employer and me but has also given me the freedom to choose my healthcare providers. Additionally, I can shop around for the best prices on prescriptions, which helps me save even more.

All consumers should be aware that there is no way to cancel a policy online with sidecar. You have to physically call them and jump through hoops. I was a policy holder at sidecar for 1 year. I also applied for coverage for my son. His name appeared 3 times on the website and even though I called and asked why that was happening, it still was never fixed. I was being charged for a policy on the 3rd iteration of his name not the first or second. The interface was extremely confusing. I canceled my and my son’s policy in December of 23. But they were still charging for one of the 3 iterations of his name. I found out I was still being charged for a policy even though I cancelled by looking at my bank statement. I was being charged for months of service even though I never even recieved a policy debit card for my son’s account. Steer clear of this company. They wouldn’t even consider a partial refund even though their website had a glitch.

SideCar was a great option. They really had a new and interesting way of handling this difficult space. I supported them and talked to everyone I knew about it, encouraging them to try it too.

Then suddenly they decide to drop all of the independent customers that helped them get off the ground. My plan cannot be renewed. No explanation. No alternatives. No support. No recommendations. Just 'bye bye' we don't want you anymore. I had no major claims over 3 years (average claim less than $50). And this is what I get. Huge mistake, I really thought this company cared and I feel foolish for believing that.

For any companies reading these reviews, don't look at the overall score, look at the recent reviews. This company won't bat an eye, they will leave longstanding customers at the drop of a hat. They won't even 'grandfather' you in, they don't care. Is that the type of company you want to enter as your insurance provider? Facts are facts.

If management wake up and decide to take us back, I will happily edit my review - I still hold out hope that they will realize their mistake.

They are dropping all of us and now we will be left scrambling to find a replacement health insurance. Thanks for nothing sidecar.

Management has made a huge mistake. Basically all the plans of individual members will be revoked at the end of the year. They’ve decided to only serve companies. My guess they weren’t turning a profit and losing money but they’ve made this decision out of desperation. They will lose all their individual customer base. And I will be forced back into bad and high cost insurance companies. I hope this company gets what it deserves bankruptcy. Messing with customers plans and biting hand that feeds you is never a good thing. Their days are numbered. So much for the future of health care I really had hope for them.

Don't cover expenses as they say they will. They continually increase cost. Not helpful

Customer service is very limited, and doesn't reply with answers, just more questions. You have to know the cheat codes apparently to get an actionable response.
Did i mention they are SLLLLOOOOOWWW.

This health insurance policy is ridiculously difficult to navigate and unorganized. Now someone wants to deny a RX. I pay more in premiums than coverage I receive and the time I waste submitting receipts and invoices, and getting nothing but demands for more paperwork back. Garbage. I don't need a full time job working for my health insurance company just to access coverage.

thanks
Chris

Sidecar is everything and more we really appreciate it they make it easy

I would not recommend Sidecar at all. The price you pay, which in all reality is not much less than a plan from a big commercial insurer, is not worth the hassle and unrealistic allowed amounts per procedure/office visit that is set by sidecar. In addition, even if you hit your out of pocket max for the year, you will still be balance billed for any amount that is incurred for any type of visit that is more than the allowed amount. For example, I have reached my OOPM but had to have labs done at my doctors office. The “allowed amount” per sidecar for labs is $20 dollars but my labs at my doctors office cost $100. Because I did not leave my doctors office and drive with a paper prescription in hand 10 miles to the nearest Quest facility which is the only place near me that is at the allowed amount, I had to pay the difference of $80 out of my own pocket.
One last thing to consider when considering Sidecar. You will be doing a ton of research prior to any type of visit to try and find pricing. Then after the visit you will have to submit all the claim information yourself. Your doctor does not submit claims directly to Sidecar on your behalf. You as the insured have to file and keep track of the claims yourself. So unless you have time for a second job literally just to visit the doctors office and hopefully it’s just you and not an entire family that has to deal with this, I would stay very very far away from this company.

I was 1st from our company to use Sidecar. I literally went the 1st day our policy was effective. I had zero issues. The biggest "hassle" would be waiting for the practice to issue the detailed bill after the visit - seriously, it does not get any easier than Sidecar!

List of Dos:
Do your research.
Do feel free to explore outside of the limitations you've experienced with traditional health insurance.
Do understand your responsibilities, whether it's getting that detailed receipt or submitting supporting documents.

List of don'ts:
Don't feel stressed - it takes a little leg work, but you will thank yourself later
Don't let anyone convince you it's not worth it to research - it can literally save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars over the course of a year
Don't let yourself miss deadlines to upload documents you're responsible for - they're going to be under your profile with a reminder of the date due BUT if you get distracted/are forgetful like me, set a calendar reminder on your phone

I FINALLY feel in control of my healthcare. I get to choose the provider and not worry about a network! I have been able to save money on every single expense from provider fees to prescriptions - for both myself and my daughter. It feels like a personal challenge to see how much money I can save through 2024. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

HORRIBLE NIGHTMARE!!! DO NOT PURCHASE!!!

WARNING: My employer decided they were going to try to save some money by switching over to Sidecar Health because Medical Mutual wanted to raise their rates 30% and my employer paid 80% of the insurance cost for all employees. They claimed they went through BBG and found Sidecar Health to be the best bet and whatever Sidecar Health didn't cover this BBG company would cover.

So, long story short (if that's really even possible here,) its now about a year later and I cannot seem to get any resolve from Sidecar regarding discrepancies in what they are covering because the hospital I was made to try and get itemized statements through essentially refused to provide them to me or Sidecar Health after months of trying. Sidecar Health acknowledged they would not be getting the required forms and had me send in what the hospital would provide me in terms of billing which is where the billing errors on Sidecar Health's end came into play. Then, as I said, BBG was supposed to cover the remainder but that's a whole different complaint to be lodged.

Like I said, long story short, do NOT get Sidecar Health unless you want to spend MONTHS trying to get you medical bills paid only to be unsuccessful. This is absolutely ridiculous, and this all goes back to my employer trying to save money by choosing Sidecar Health over an actual insurance company (which btw Sidecar is NOT!) I can't even calculate how many hours I have spent trying to resolve these issues now, and now that this many parties are involved everyone is more confused than I am and its nearly impossible to get all these people on one page. This is an absolute atrocity, and an extremely poor excuse of an "insurance" company. YOU will be the one doing all the work while they struggle to provide you the services they promise up front. Just a word to the wise!!!

Oh, and P.S. You will NOT be "saving" or "making" any money with Sidecar. Any money that I "made" will have amounted to the cost of having the plan so it completely cancels itself out. I qualified for financial assistance through the hospital like most people in my position do by the way (something to look into if you aren't aware,) and so I essentially paid Sidecar Health $450 instead of keeping it in my own pocket while they gave me the "pleasure" of doing the work an actual insurance company would be doing for their customers. That's correct, I LOST money having Sidecar Healthcare AND I had to do the work an actual insurance company should be doing; double whammy here. As I said, I have lost countless hours of my life trying to resolve this and there is no end in sight with regard to these issues.

I wish I could rate this with zero stars. DO NOT GET THIS "insurance" especially if you have a job. You will have a second full time job trying to gather ALL of the following on your own for each and every medical appointment or procedure and God Forbid if you have to have an unplanned surgery! First, you need to call around and find the cheapest pharmacy(that took time but wasn't so bad) However, before ANY appointment or procedure you have to try to get a "pre-bill" which requires very specific and detailed information that most places are not prepared to obtain in their usual "estimates". After several phone calls to your provider's billing department to hopefully get someone who understands the detail you need, you have to wait at least 5 business days to see what sidecar might pay. They have some very GENERAL info on their website as to what they might pay but again you still need the prebill because you have no idea what your doctor's facility charges until AFTER all of the appointments. Now this is after you have seen your doctor for the initial consult which as you know may take days or weeks to even get into. You better hope you are not getting sicker or in more pain as was in my case, with a pending knee surgery after a sports injury. AFTER I spent weeks getting first, the sports medicine consult, then the xrays, then the MRI, then researching surgeons who were reasonably priced but obviously reputable, I finally got the "prebill" -billing department in my hospital didn't know what I was asking for so that took several phone calls. THEN when I submitted that prebill it took another 5 days only for them to say no they won't pay that amount because the facility where this surgeon has priveleges costs too much. At that time they listed ONE surgical center they would cover. I can't believe I even entertained that as I called several other reputable orthopedic knee surgeons in my area and none of those had privileges there. Meantime my knee became increasingly painful and by this time I was in excruciating pain as I TRIED to maintain my own job this whole time and I finally said NO-I am proceeding with my surgery which was scheduled for the next day. I could NOT put it off any farther. THE DAY before my surgery I get a last minute email from sidecar listing a few reputable surgeons from another cheaper facility that had I known they were covered in the first place I would have entertained that option. I could not take several more weeks to get into those surgeons. No way. I had to get this done for my health. They refused in the end to cover my surgery due to the fact that my surgeon's facility was more expensive than the cheapest one they could find in my area. Wouldn't even entertain covering a little more--NOTHING!! Shameful. I cannot wait to see their response here. Do NOT believe them or trust them with their sales pitches and even worse, with their "wonderful care team" responding to your frustrations with their jargon. By the way, we pay the highest premium you can pay!!! Ridiculous!

**addendum after seeing sidecar reply below**: I have reached out to your care team and have retold my experience to 5 different people and no one is willing to correct this situation by paying more toward my procedure! They all say “I am so sorry. And admit its frustrating “. Nothing will correct this situation unless you are willing to pay more. Nothing will “restore” my faith in you unless you pay more toward my procedure. I know have to pay $1000/mth for 11 months to the hospital. At least it sounds like you are admitting that you screwed up here but how can you ask me to restore Faith without correcting it?? And I need toads on top of this stress I had to obtain a “detailed bill” for you to pay for the nominal amount you did pay for. That entailed making 2 phone calls to billing and the to print and Completing form for the hospital to release records which will now take 3 weeks. Who on earth has time for this and what exactly do you do to help us? It’s a joke. Please contact me ONLY when you are willing to pay more toward this procedure and MY work in obtaining all the paperwork. Otherwise do not patronize me with another “apology “. This insurance is through my husbands job and he is afraid to say much as to not lose his job. Fortunately many others in the company are expressing the same issues. Making others aware of your policies and actions here are our only recourse for now.

I've been a Sidecar Health member for 2 years now and have had a great experience. The transparency, control, and clarity for my healthcare is a breath of fresh air compared to traditional insurance. If I want to really make the most of it, I can shop around and earn money back, or I can rest easy knowing that there is no restrictive provider network to worry about.

The absolute worst experience ever with insurance...or lack thereof! Everything is a hassle. When my employer signed up it all sounded great. The first month or so was good, then my meds changed and it all went south. I have had expenses pending for months because they do not want to pay me the difference as they claimed they would if I found a cheaper price than they had set. I don't have time to call and chat and jump through hoops. Customer service is terrible.