Anthem Medicaid members in Charlottesville and Western Halifax have until Saturday, October 31 to switch health plans if they want to keep Sentara doctors in network. Sentara Health ended contract talks with Anthem after Anthem did not accept its proposal by an October 1 deadline. Anthem’s Medicaid plans are expected to go out of network with Sentara on January 28, 2027.
Why did Sentara and Anthem split?
Sentara’s October 5 announcement says the talks ended for Anthem’s Medicare Advantage, Medicaid and ACA Exchange plans, while Anthem’s commercial employer plans are still in negotiation. Aubrey L. Layne Jr., Sentara’s executive vice president and chief administrative officer, said the health system “can no longer absorb their underpayments.”
Sentara says it remains in network for Anthem members through at least December 31, 2026. Medicare Advantage and Exchange plans are expected to go out of network on January 1, 2027, and Medicaid plans on January 28, 2027. Patients in active cancer treatment or obstetrics care may keep in-network access further into 2027, Sentara says.
Who has to act by October 31?
The October 31 date belongs to Medicaid members in the Charlottesville and Western Halifax region, whose enrollment window Sentara lists as August 19 to October 31, 2026. A member who wants to keep Sentara doctors needs to move to a Medicaid health plan that includes them before the window closes. Sentara posts updates at sentara.com/KeepSentara, and Cover Virginia is the state’s Medicaid site for questions about changing plans.
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Medicaid members in Southwest Virginia have a later window, December 19, 2026 to February 28, 2027, according to Sentara. The October 31 date is the Charlottesville and Western Halifax window only, so a neighbor in the other region is working from a different calendar.
Do Medicare and Exchange members have different dates?
Yes. Anthem Medicare Advantage members have open enrollment from October 15 to December 7, 2026, and ACA Exchange members have a window from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027, Sentara says. For Medicare Advantage help, Sentara points members to Chapter, a Medicare advisory service it partners with, at askchapter.org/sentara or 1-855-531-2355. Sentara says the service is free for eligible patients.
Those dates are for Medicare and Exchange members, not for Medicaid members in this region, whose window ends October 31.
Which dates matter for Sentara patients?
Sentara’s announcement and its Medicaid, Medicare and Exchange windows add up to a short calendar:
- October 31, 2026: Medicaid window closes for Charlottesville and Western Halifax
- December 7, 2026: Medicare Advantage open enrollment ends
- December 19, 2026: Southwest Virginia Medicaid window opens
- December 31, 2026: Sentara stays in network for Anthem members through at least this date
- January 1, 2027: Medicare Advantage and Exchange plans expected to go out of network
- January 15, 2027: ACA Exchange window ends
- January 28, 2027: Medicaid plans expected to go out of network
- February 28, 2027: Southwest Virginia Medicaid window closes
Not yet. Sentara says Anthem’s commercial employer plans are still in negotiation. Another Virginia system, VCU Health, lists commercial, Medicaid, Dual Special Needs and Health Insurance Exchange plans as not affected at VCU Medical Center, so the Sentara split does not describe every hospital in the state.
Sentara says patients who need continuity-of-care planning can work with the health system, which says it is committed to guiding them through Anthem’s process. The announcement names cancer treatment and obstetrics care as the cases that may keep in-network access further into 2027.
Sentara’s announcement describes the talks as ended, with Anthem’s Medicaid out-of-network date set for January 28, 2027. For a member in the Charlottesville and Western Halifax region, the nearest fixed date is still October 31.
Switching plans before October 31?
The window Sentara lists for Medicaid members in Charlottesville and Western Halifax closes October 31, and the out-of-network date for Medicaid is January 28, 2027. Plan changes, renewals and paperwork each run on their own calendar, and one missed date can cost a member coverage or a doctor.
The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer includes 51 state packs and a renewal and reporting calendar, along with a renewal document checklist, so the October 31 date and later Medicaid dates sit on one schedule.
Get the Medicaid dates calendar in the renewal organizer →
More Financial Reading
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
