Mental health benefits are broken — and employers are footing the bill

In today’s workplace, mental health isn’t optional — it’s critical to your business. But while employers pour money into costly point solutions to make up for health plan gaps, Sidecar Health solves the problem at its source. 

We cover mental health the way it should have been covered all along: without barriers — and with results that save plans money. 

A crisis employers can’t afford to ignore 

Mental health isn’t just a personal issue, it’s an economic one. Each year, mental health-related challenges cost U.S. businesses billions in lost productivity¹, absenteeism, and healthcare claims². And the numbers are alarming:

• 12% of all adult ER visits are mental health related³ 
• Nearly half of psychiatrists (45%)⁴ and a third of psychologists (34%)⁵ don’t accept insurance — turning access to mental health care into a luxury, affordable only for those who can pay out of pocket. 
• With so few providers accepting insurance, patients seeking mental health therapy often face significant delays. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing reports that the average wait time to access mental health services is about 48 days⁶. 

This limited access leads to delayed treatment, worsening conditions, and ultimately high-cost emergencies. Employers end up paying twice: first for a health plan that can make it very hard to access care, and again when avoidable crises hit. 

Mental health benefits deserve better than point solution patch jobs  

Many employers have been forced into buying supplemental mental health tools: virtual therapy apps, crisis hotlines, and coaching platforms. But these band-aids can’t fix a health plan that can still make it very hard to access mental health care. 

That’s where Sidecar Health comes in. Instead of layering extra solutions, we cover mental health the right way — inside the plan, without barriers, caps, or complexity. One benefit. One integrated solution. 

The result: 

• Employees can access the care they need when they need it. 
• Employers avoid paying for avoidable high-cost interventions. 
• Plans see fewer catastrophic claims and better financial outcomes. 

Getting mental healthcare shouldn’t feel impossible. Sidecar Health changes that.

Legacy insurance models create obstacles that delay mental health care: restrictive networks, prior authorizations, visit limits, and opaque pricing. To compensate, many employers bolt on expensive mental health point solutions — layering more vendors, contracts, and costs onto an already bloated system. 

Sidecar Health eliminates the need for workarounds. We remove the barriers inside the plan itself: 

• Unlimited, no-cost mental health therapy visits for every member⁷ 
• No network restrictions — members can see any licensed provider who accepts Visa 
• No referrals or prior authorizations 
• Upfront coverage amounts — members know their exact cost, if any, before they walk in 

This proactive access transforms utilization: Sidecar Health members use mental health services 1.5–2x more often than those on traditional plans. And that’s a good thing. 

Because every therapy session covered early is a crisis averted, and a high-cost claim avoided. 

Prevention that pays off for the plan 

When employees can’t get timely mental healthcare, the consequences ripple across your health plan and your business: 

• Higher ER visits and inpatient admissions 
• Increased disability claims 
• Lost productivity and turnover 

With Sidecar Health, we’ve proven that investing in mental health access reduces emergency care use. Our members use the ER 45%⁸ less than those on legacy insurance plans.  

That’s not just a win for employee wellbeing — it’s a direct reduction in costly claims. For a self-funded plan, every dollar saved is a dollar back to your business. And for a fully funded plan, lower healthcare costs keep premiums down.  

Better mental healthcare shouldn’t cost more. It should cost less.

The legacy insurance model makes it harder to access care, which can lead to worse outcomes and higher costs. Sidecar Health proves the opposite: covering care generously and removing barriers lowers costs for everyone.