SamaCare vs Valer (Voluware)
Two Prior Authorization vendors, side by side. Facts from public sources; judgments are ours.
At a glance
Derived from public facts · a rough scale, not a ranking
| SamaCare | Valer (Voluware) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free to providers (funded by payers/pharma) · Pharma funds premium services and data | Not published · custom quotes for health systems |
| Speed to go live | Web portal, no IT project required | customized to each workflow and EHR |
| Automation model | Software platform · Unified PA portal, AI touchless tier | Software platform · single portal for all payers |
| Built for | Small practices, Mid-size groups | Mid-size groups, Enterprise systems |
| Security posture | SOC 2 Type I, HIPAA | HITRUST |
| Company maturity | 8 yrs (est. 2018) | 14 yrs (est. 2012) |
| Financial backing | $33M+ · Series B | PE-backed (Hughes & Company) |
| Named customers | None public | 1 named |
| Published results | No public numbers | No public numbers |
| Documented integrations | 4 listed | 4 listed |
| Third-party validation | None found | None found |
Bottom line
- Pick SamaCare if you are a specialty practice buried in medical-benefit prior auths and want one free web portal replacing faxes and payer portals today.
- Pick Valer if your staff juggles dozens of payer portals and faxes for prior auths and you want one submission and tracking hub across all service lines.
SamaCare
Prior authorization platform for buy-and-bill specialty drugs
- Founded
- 2018
- HQ
- San Francisco, CA
- Stage
- Series B
- Raised
- $33M+
What it does
- One portal for all medical benefit PA submissions
- AI-assisted form completion and payer requirements
- Status tracking, renewals, and expiration alerts
- Benefit verification and enrollment workflows
- Approval analytics across a 20K-provider network
Where it's strong
- Purpose-built for buy-and-bill drugs, a workflow retail-focused PA tools handle poorly.
- Free for practices because pharma funds it, which removes the budget fight.
- Network data from roughly 20,000 providers improves payer form accuracy and approval odds.
What buyers should weigh
- The pharma-funded model means manufacturers see aggregate data; understand the data terms before signing.
- Scope is medication PA for specialty drugs, not procedures, imaging, or surgical auths.
- Smaller company (Series B) than incumbent networks, so vendor risk is higher than with McKesson or Optum.
Integrations
Valer (Voluware)
Prior auth submission and tracking automation across payer portals
- Founded
- 2012
- HQ
- Huntington Beach, CA
- Stage
- PE-backed (Hughes & Company)
- Raised
- $7.6M disclosed
What it does
- Automated PA submission to 75+ payer portals
- Auto-completion of 1,000+ payer fax forms
- Automated status checking and verification
- Bi-directional EHR sync using standard 278/275 transactions
- Covers procedures, referrals, and services, not just drugs
- Reporting on turnaround times and staff productivity
Where it's strong
- Covers the messy middle of PA: portal and fax submissions that pure API-based tools cannot reach.
- Bi-directional Epic integration writes auth numbers and statuses back automatically.
- Workflow is configured per client rather than one-size-fits-all, which suits complex health system setups.
What buyers should weigh
- Small company with modest disclosed funding, so evaluate roadmap and support depth against bigger rivals.
- Portal and fax automation depends on payer sites staying stable; expect some maintenance lag when payers change portals.
- Per-client configuration means implementations take real effort compared with plug-and-play point tools.
Named customers
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)
Integrations
Compare against the rest of Prior Authorization
Deciding between these two?
First Pass tracks Prior Authorization every week: funding, launches, and what changed since this page was written.