 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Health insurance |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Patrick Quigley and Veronica Osetinsky |
| Headquarters | El Segundo, California |
Key people | Patrick Quigley (CEO) Veronica Osetinsky (COO) |
| Website | sidecarhealth.com |
Sidecar Health is an American health insurance company headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company offers major medical plans for midsize and large companies based in Ohio, Georgia, Florida, and Texas with members across 44 states. [1] [2] [3]
Sidecar Health was founded in El Segundo, California in 2018 by Patrick Quigley and Veronica Osetinsky. [4] [5] The pair were previously executives at Katch (formerly Vantage Media), an online advertising technology company and customer acquisition marketplace for insurers. [4] [6]
The company launched its first insurance product in 2019 in Texas, [4] [7] as the state's large uninsured population offered a sizable potential customer base. [8] [7] By the end of the year, Sidecar Health had expanded to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina. [9] [10] [11]
Sidecar Health initially raised $18 million in funding through venture capital firms GreatPoint Ventures and Morpheus Ventures. [8] [12] In July 2020, it raised $20 million in a new round of funding that included Comcast Ventures, Kauffman Fellows, and 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki. [13] It closed its Series C funding round in January 2021, led by Drive Capital, at $125 million—bringing it to a $1 billion valuation, often referred to as unicorn status. [14] [5] Funding supported staffing and further expansion, along with investment in new insurance products. [15] In 2024,Sidecar Health raised $165 million in a Series D fundraise led by Koch Disruptive Technologies. Other investors included Cathay Innovation, GreatPoint Ventures, Morpheus, Drive Capital, Duke University, BOND, and Menlo Ventures. [16]
The company no longer sells fixed indemnity or "excepted benefit" insurance plans. [17] As of 2024, [18] the company evolved to exclusively offer fully Affordable Care Act (ACA)-compliant, large group comprehensive major medical health plans — available as both fully-insured and self-funded solutions [18] — for employers with 51 or more employees. [1]
Sidecar Health’s model is built on the idea that people should know the cost of care prior to a service and be incentivized to consider those costs in advance. [15] [16] In the app, members are able to see what care costs before they get it. Members can see any licensed provider without restrictions like networks or prior authorization. [3] For every covered service, the plan pays up to a maximum allowable amount (called a benefit amount) based on typical local prices. [14] When members choose lower-cost care, they keep half the savings. Or they pay the difference if they choose care above the Benefit Amount. Today, nearly 80% of claims are at or below the benefit amount. [19]
Sidecar Health's current plans are designed to meet all federal and state requirements for major medical coverage under the ACA. These plans include full emergency protections under the No Surprises Act and cover all essential health benefits required of ACA-compliant insurers. [20] [21]
In 2024, Sidecar Health raised an additional $165 million in a Series D round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies to expand into Florida. [22]