SamaCare
Prior authorization platform for buy-and-bill specialty drugs
Our take
SamaCare, founded in 2018 in San Francisco, makes a workflow platform for prior authorization of buy-and-bill specialty drugs, the medical benefit medications that practices purchase and administer in-office. Retina, oncology, neurology, rheumatology, and infusion practices use it as a single place to submit PAs across payers, track statuses, catch expirations, and manage renewals. It is free to practices; pharmaceutical manufacturers pay SamaCare to reduce access friction for their therapies.
The company raised a $17M Series B led by Questa Capital in May 2024, bringing disclosed funding past $33M, and reports a network of nearly 20,000 providers. It passed 1 million completed prior authorizations in June 2025 and reported over $6.2B in medical benefit drug PAs by February 2026, with pharma partners citing 24% lower abandonment and up to 42% fewer administrative denials. It is the strongest fit for specialty practices whose PA pain is drug-specific; organizations that need procedure or imaging auth automation will need a different tool alongside it.
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.
Latest
Passed 1 million prior authorizations completed in June 2025, and by February 2026 reported surpassing $6.2B in medical benefit drug PAs processed.
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