Sentara Health Plans, which provides health insurance coverage to nearly one million members in Virginia and Florida, will end three Medicare Advantage plans that serve members with drug benefits and certain chronic conditions.
Coverage for the affected plans will end Dec. 31, 2025, and the company plans to cut 220 positions as a result.
Sentara spokesperson Dale Gauding said the change follows a review prompted by tightening federal regulations and reduced reimbursement rates that have made the products financially unsustainable.
“Industry-wide headwinds and market dynamics are leading many insurers to reassess their participation in Medicare Advantage,” Gauding said in a statement sent to WHRO.
Sentara emphasized that the change does not affect its other plans and will not change which insurance plans are accepted at Sentara hospitals.
Meanwhile, Sentara Health has notified employees of layoffs impacting about 220 workers, mostly within Sentara Health Plans, as part of an organizational restructuring tied to the discontinuation of those Medicare plans.
Colin Drozdowski, president of Sentara Health Plans and executive vice president of Sentara Health, said the company planned to cut about 400 positions at first, but limited the impact by leaving 180 open or vacant positions unfilled.
“These decisions are not made lightly, and our focus remains on communicating directly with our colleagues and supporting them through this transition. Impacted employees will receive at least 60 days’ notice, and Sentara is committed to supporting them with career transition services, severance benefits, and opportunities to apply for other roles within the organization,” said Drozdowski in a statement sent to WHRO.
Roughly two-thirds of the affected jobs are based in Virginia. Most of the rest are in Florida, with some remote across other states.
Approximately a third of those laid off are in leadership positions.
Drozdowski said the eliminated jobs represent less than one percent of Sentara Health’s 34,000-employee workforce.
