CoverMyMeds (McKesson) vs SparkChange
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
| CoverMyMeds (McKesson) | SparkChange | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free to providers (funded by payers/pharma) · Payers, PBMs, pharma fund the network | Enterprise contract (custom) · Platform subscription plus services |
| Speed to go live | Free self-serve portal; EHR-embedded options exist | Health system project, impact claimed in 30 days |
| Automation model | Data / network utility · medication ePA network and portal | Software platform · RPA-style automations plus analytics |
| Built for | Small practices, Mid-size groups, Enterprise systems, Payers | Enterprise systems |
| Security posture | No certifications published | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA |
| Company maturity | 18 yrs (est. 2008) | 8 yrs (est. 2018) |
| Financial backing | Subsidiary of McKesson | Bootstrapped |
| Named customers | None public | 4 named |
| Published results | No public numbers | No public numbers |
| Documented integrations | 5 listed | 2 listed |
| Third-party validation | None found | None found |
Bottom line
- Pick CoverMyMeds if you want free electronic prior auth for medications with the broadest payer and pharmacy network.
- Pick SparkChange if you run a health system on Oracle Health and want missing and retroactive authorizations caught and fixed before they become denials.
CoverMyMeds (McKesson)
The largest electronic prior authorization network for medications
- Founded
- 2008
- HQ
- Columbus, OH
- Stage
- Subsidiary of McKesson
- Raised
- n/a
What it does
- Electronic prior authorization for retail and specialty drugs
- Specialty enrollment and hub services (RxLightning)
- Medical benefit PA for oncology and radiology (FastAuth)
- Benefit checks and prescription price transparency
- Patient affordability and copay program delivery
Where it's strong
- Network effects are real: it completed 43 million prior authorizations in the 2025 reverification season and most prescribers already have accounts.
- Free for providers and pharmacies, which makes adoption easy.
- McKesson ownership ties it into specialty distribution and pharma services that competitors cannot match.
What buyers should weigh
- Coverage is payer-dependent and shifting: Independence Blue Cross dropped CoverMyMeds for Surescripts ePA in August 2025, so verify your payer mix routes through it.
- It centers on medication PA; medical benefit and procedure prior auth needs mostly require other tools despite the FastAuth acquisition.
- Its revenue comes from pharma and payers, so provider-side feature priorities can lag.
Integrations
SparkChange
Finds missing auths and fixes them before denials
- Founded
- 2018
- HQ
- Kansas City, MO
- Stage
- Bootstrapped
- Raised
- n/a
What it does
- Detects auth-required services upstream of scheduling
- Flags and corrects auth discrepancies after service
- Automates retro-authorization before claims go out
- Auto-builds appeals for historical auth denials
- Eligibility verification automation at health system scale
- Spark360 analytics for AR and payer performance
Where it's strong
- Handles the full auth lifecycle including retro-auth and denial appeals, not just submission.
- Founding team of Cerner revenue cycle engineers knows Millennium workflows from the inside.
- Published health system results, including 18,800 FTE hours saved at an academic system.
What buyers should weigh
- Depth is on Oracle Health (Cerner); Epic shops should probe fit carefully.
- Part platform, part consulting firm, so scope and staffing shape what you actually get.
- Self-funded regional company; smaller footprint than national auth vendors.
Named customers
Centra · University Health Kansas City · LMH Health · St. Joseph's Health
Integrations
Compare against the rest of Prior Authorization
Deciding between these two?
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