Sentara to cut 200 jobs across workforce

Sentara Health is cutting approximately 200 positions across its workforce, officials told employees this week. Most of the affected employees work for Sentara Health Plans and are based in Virginia, according to a statement issued Friday by the Hampton Roads-based health system.

The cuts are related to the Medicaid redetermination process and associated decline in membership, according to Sentara’s statement. “There has been a significant decline in Medicaid membership across the U.S. and Virginia,” the health system said. “For Sentara Health Plans, this has resulted in a loss of over 115,000 members, which is approximately 16% of our Medicaid membership, in the past year. These workforce adjustments align our staffing levels with our health plan membership.”

The other affected jobs are in the corporate shared services department that support Sentara’s health insurance operations. The final number of impacted positions has not yet been determined, and Sentara officials are working to find other posts within the 34,000-member workforce for affected employees. About 40% of all positions are leadership posts, and impacted employees are across 10 states, although the majority live in Virginia, according to Sentara.

“These individuals have been dedicated and mission-driven team members, and we are grateful for their passion and contributions to the organization and to the community,” Sentara Health President and CEO Dennis Matheis said in a communication to Sentara employees this week. Matheis became Sentara’s CEO in 2022, and he previously led Sentara’s health insurance plans business. In 2023, Sentara’s Optima Health and Virginia Premier insurance brands combined to create Sentara Health Plans, which provides health insurance coverage to more than 1 million customers in Virginia and Florida.

Affected Sentara employees received 60 days’ notification, in which time some may move to other roles in the health system. “Sentara is making every attempt to find them another role within Sentara, upskill for other in-house positions, or offer severance and resources for those who are unable to find a new position within the Sentara family or who choose to transition elsewhere,” the statement says.

Sentara has 12 hospitals in Virginia and North Carolina. Over the past three years, the health system has been embroiled in an ongoing federal civil investigation over accusations that Sentara inflated insurance rates to maximize profits. Sentara, however, counters that it was unfairly targeted and was trying to keep vulnerable Virginians from losing health care coverage by offering Affordable Care Act plans while other insurers dropped them.