Sidecar HealthReviews of sidecarhealth.com

This is the BEST true health insurance option available today...unless you are in elected office. Sidecar facilitates YOUR ownership of YOUR healthcare. As an RN I understand the pitfalls of traditional health (sick) insurance, the exorbitant costs involved, the wastefulness that is spread unfairly among us low utilizers and SideCar helps me sidestep all of that. Make a choice to be responsible for your own health, responsible for your own healthcare costs and in control of the care of your health. Stop handing your most valuable asset (your health) over The Syndicate, aka Traditional Health Insurance.

Customer service is amazing, best I’ve ever experienced.

Bad experience + Unreasonable Billing Practices Awful experience. Platform never works for uploading receipts (have to email customer service every time). Expense calculations are unclear and often get stuck in limbo for weeks on end while they determine what you will need to pay. I chose this insurance after being laid off and deciding to make a career change. I notified them in advance of coverage to be provided through my new employer, but they refuse to prorate/refund the two weeks worth of coverage that will overlap for the month paid in advance. The only reasoning is just that they "can't." I'm still waiting for one of the expense adjustments to post, but apparently they "can't" even credit the unused coverage premium towards that cost. Ridiculous. If you're looking for any sort of reliable, consistent coverage do not use this company. Additional update: customer service reaches out to resolve this concern...and now 5 mins later my outstanding bill is rejected and I owe $500? Are you kidding me?

I like being in control of my expenses. I can’t blame anyone but myself if I don’t submit my medical statements. Empowering!

Quick, easy-to-understand response and explanation first experience. Well done. Thank you!

Sidecar Health is a scam. They stopped offering me service after I wanted to do a preventative procedure recommended by my doctor. I've been using traditional insurance companies for 30+ years and I've never been treated like this. Most of their "should cost" prices are inaccurate (even the cheapest providers charge 2x the price). And they change their "benefit amount" right after you file your claim. I had a screenshot before they updated the pricing. The reason they give you: We are a startup company. Deceptive and false advertising is against the law. Don't fall for their "no deductible" plan and scam tactics. Choose any insurance company but this scam company!

I'm updating & softening my previous review that called Sidecar Health a scam (though I am not 100% convinced that it isn't...). After receiving a follow up call from the company, I'm willing to entertain that it isn't an intentional scam and just a new business model that doesn't live up to its claims. Sidecar makes a bold promise right at the top of their home page: "Health insurance the way it should be." Not in my experience. So far, I've paid my premium for 5 months and I have had one routine annual exam. For that visit, I paid nearly as much as I would have had I had no coverage at all - around $700. Why has this happened? The first issue is that I was "overcharged" (according to Sidecar) for the lab fees. Perhaps this is true. Apparently I should have not used the lab in the doctors office and shopped around instead, and asked more questions about lab fees upfront when I made my appt. Ok. I guess that is the trade-off of their model. The other problem is apparently the doctors office billed for the visit under the wrong billing code. Since I am not an expert on medical billing codes, that cost me $90. On top of the money, for this one visit I've had 4 phone calls with Sidecar and several with the doctor's office trying to get it sorted out. This isn't how *anything* should be imo! Bottom line is - this IS NOT an easy to use service. It is time consuming, frustrating and there is a learning curve while you learn the arcane processes of medical administration. Small missteps will cost you big $$. On their website, they present their service is easy and transparent, but I haven't found that to be true. For instance, in the How it Works section, the second point states "Compare prices between doctors to find the best rate" with a corresponding picture that indicates you can do this in their app. But, in practice, the app lists the doctors in my area but has absolutely no price information for any of them. Later on the page there is another image, supposedly a screenshot of their app, where it shows a doctor profile with reviews and prices. Again, neither prices nor reviews are available in the doctor-finder part of the app (in my area). Another way they give the impression of being easy is that supposedly you simply pay for services with your Sidecar Visa, then upload your bills and get reimbursed. It's true that you can do this, but this is the easiest way to end up stuck with unexpected medical bills. Through my conversations with the company, the safest process is a bit more complicated. What they recommended to me on the phone is to *not* pay the doctor upfront - first upload the bill to the Sidecar app, wait and see what Sidecar will pay you, then if you end up out of pocket, try and bargain your medical bills down. Of course, they don't put this in their marketing since that would be a hard sell and really isn't consistent with their "easy and transparent" image. All this said, there are very few alternatives for those of us who don't have health coverage through their employers. In this scenario it's a matter of picking your poison. I'm sticking with them (for now) in the hopes of re-couping my losses with better planning and more info on how to use the system in the future. I will update this review if this ever ends up working out for me before I get a better job or move to a civilized country.

Quick and easy!