Sentara Health Plans president hired

Sentara Health Plans, the health insurance division of Norfolk-based Sentara Health, has a new president. With more than two decades of executive leadership in health insurance, Michael Cole started in that role and as executive vice president of Sentara Health last week, according to a Thursday announcement.

Cole succeeds Colin Drozdowski, who announced last summer plans to retire after six years in the role.

In 2023, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon named Cole its market president. In early 2025, Regence BlueShield of Washington announced Cole would also oversee that state. In these roles, Cole served 2.5 million members across the Pacific Northwest.

Previously, Cole served as president of Aetna’s North Atlantic territory and as president and CEO of the company’s Keystone market in Pennsylvania.

In his new position, Cole sees avenues for growth in the mid-Atlantic region “from serving vulnerable populations through expanded Medicaid coverage to strengthening relationships with other health systems,” according to a news release.

“We have a meaningful opportunity to expand our impact, strengthen how we serve our communities and continue raising the bar as an integrated delivery network,” Cole said in a statement.

A Richmond native, Cole earned an MBA in finance and marketing from Northwestern University.

He is an honorary board member of Erie Family Health Centers, a federally qualified health center in Chicago, and a trustee of Trillium Family Services, a mental health organization in Oregon.

In October 2025, Sentara Health announced plans to lay off 220 employees, including 127 in Virginia, as part of a restructuring tied to its decision to drop some Medicare Advantage plans.

Sentara Health Plans serves more than 1 million members across Virginia and Florida. Sentara Health operates 11 hospitals in Virginia and one in northeastern North Carolina.