CoverMyMeds (McKesson) 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
| CoverMyMeds (McKesson) | Valer (Voluware) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free to providers (funded by payers/pharma) · Payers, PBMs, pharma fund the network | Not published · custom quotes for health systems |
| Speed to go live | Free self-serve portal; EHR-embedded options exist | customized to each workflow and EHR |
| Automation model | Data / network utility · medication ePA network and portal | Software platform · single portal for all payers |
| Built for | Small practices, Mid-size groups, Enterprise systems, Payers | Mid-size groups, Enterprise systems |
| Security posture | No certifications published | HITRUST |
| Company maturity | 18 yrs (est. 2008) | 14 yrs (est. 2012) |
| Financial backing | Subsidiary of McKesson | PE-backed (Hughes & Company) |
| Named customers | None public | 1 named |
| Published results | No public numbers | No public numbers |
| Documented integrations | 5 listed | 4 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 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.
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
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?
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