Using Your Medicaid Benefits, Programs and Services
Our Baby Showers celebrate your pregnancy and help you prepare for childbirth. They are free and you are welcome to bring a guest. The Baby Showers feature food, fun, and education.
Baby Shower activities include:
- Discussing topics like safe sleep, nutrition, breastfeeding, and dental care
- Labor and delivery unit tour
- Raffle to win a new stroller
- Games and small prizes
If you have questions, email welcomingbaby@sentara.com or call 1-844-671-2108 (TTY: 711).
Sentara Health Plans offers case management services for traumatic brain injury services. This service is available to individuals 18 years of age and older who have a severe traumatic brain injury that meets certain medical diagnoses and criteria. This service is designed to coordinate services and provide a person-centered plan for members who have suffered a traumatic brain injury. Our goal is to help support the members and families to regain the highest possible level of functioning for daily activities.
If you are interested in learning more about this service, please talk with your case manager.
Approved member households can get a free smartphone. The plan includes:
- Free Smartphone (one time only)
- Free 4.5GB data
- Free 1,000 voice minutes
- Free unlimited texts
- Free calls to or from Sentara Health Plans member services
You can get help with education application costs when you are an Sentara Community Plan member.
To be eligible, you must apply to a two- or four-year college, vocational school, or apprenticeship program. You can request a gift card, up to $75 to match the application fee amount. View the College Application Assistance page for full details about the program.
Sponsored by Sentara Health Plans Read, Learn, Grow.
For more information, contact our outreach team.
Virginia Medicaid offers dental coverage for all members age 21 and up. Children and pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid, FAMIS, or FAMIS MOMS will continue to receive comprehensive dental coverage under their own program.
Call 1-888-912-3456 (TTY: 711) and a representative can help members make an appointment. The call center is available 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, or visit DentaQuest.com.
Members most at risk for developing diabetes are invited into a special program. It features health coaching and a weight management program.
The program is for pre-diabetic members 18 years and older. You will be notified if eligible. FAMIS members are not eligible.
Members receive 400 free diapers per pregnancy. Only one set of 400 diapers will be given per pregnancy, regardless of giving birth to one or multiple children at the same time. All diapers are shipped at one time to the member’s home.
For more information, contact our outreach team.
Members may order up to $20 in feminine hygiene products each quarter. Products include items such as tampons, sanitary pads, feminine wipes, and period panties. Unused dollars will roll over to the next quarter. All dollars will expire on December 31, 2024. If a member disenrolls from Sentara Community Plan and later becomes a member again, any previously unused amounts are lost. The benefit would restart.
For more information, contact our outreach team.
Just like your body benefits from a diet and exercise plan, your financial health benefits from a budgeting and savings plan. The Financial Wellness Program, in partnership with FinFit®, offers you tools and experts to help you become better managers of your money.
How does it work?
Sign up for an account to use the Financial Wellness Program online or download the FinFit app on your smartphone. The program includes tools to help manage your spending and save for major expenses, emergencies, and retirement. These financial tools and services are offered at no cost to all Sentara Health Plans Medicaid members.
The Financial Wellness Program provides:
- unlimited access to a certified personal finance wellness coach
- a Financial Health Survey used to produce your custom roadmap
- recommended steps to achieve your financial goals
- online educational courses related to your financial wellness journey
- budget calculators to help you make smart financial decisions
- simple online tools to help you track your spending
- reminders when balances are low or spending is high in certain categories
Sign Up for FinFit®
Questions? View the FinFit Frequently Asked Questions or contact the FinFit Customer Service team at
1-800-869-6240 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., or email sentarahealthplans@finfit.com.
Available in Chesapeake, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach.
Sentara Health Plans sponsors the Healthy Food Pantry in partnership with the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, and Calvary Revival Church.
The program is offered to members with certain health conditions who are worried about running out of food. These conditions include:
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
Your member health screening will help determine if you qualify.
Members of the program will receive up to 50 pounds of healthy food once every month.
To complete your health screening, contact our outreach team.
Food pantry hours and location:
1st and 3rd Saturday, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Feed the City Program
Calvary Revival Church
5833 Poplar Hall Drive
Norfolk, VA 23502
Feed the City site coordinator: 757-636-3752
Church office: 757-321-9700
Passing the General Education Development (GED) test certifies you have a high school level education. It is accepted by most U.S. colleges, universities, and vocational schools.
If you are interested in taking the GED test, let us know. You may receive a voucher up to $275 for the online prep classes and the test. You must be at least 18 years old to participate.
Sponsored by Sentara Health Plans Read, Learn, Grow.
To find out if you are eligible, contact our outreach team.
The HEAL Program is a series of free classes about health topics important to you. Certified Sentara Health Plans instructors provide hands-on learning about topics like:
• learning to compare nutrition facts on labels
• how to read and understand medication instructions
• when to use urgent care or the emergency room
• how to fill out medical history forms
• how to talk to your doctor
There are 10 classes in a series. Attendance to all 10 classes is not required, but strongly encouraged. Classes meet weekly. Registration is preferred as class size is limited.
Sponsored by Sentara Health Plans Read, Learn, Grow.
Members who become pregnant will get a grocery card for healthy food, including fresh fruits and vegetables. The grocery card amount is $75 per quarter. Unused dollars will not roll over each quarter. This benefit ends 12 months after giving birth or having a miscarriage. If a member disenrolls from Sentara Health Plans and later becomes a member again, any previously unused amounts are lost. The benefit would restart.
For more information, contact our outreach team.
Members may earn up to $50 in gift cards for seeing the doctor and having certain screenings and vaccinations.
The program provides eligible Sentara Community Plan members with savings on healthy food. It also offers discounts on other products such as baby items and cleaning products.
How does it work?
• The Healthy Savings card is mailed to Sentara Community Plan member.
• Register your card at healthysavings.com/sentarahealthplans.
• Your card comes ready to use.
• You will receive emails with the savings available for the week.
• Shop at a participating grocery store.
• Simply scan the card or the bar code from the app at the checkout.
• Receive the savings available that week off your grocery bill.
• The app is free from the App Store or Google Play.
Participating grocery stores include (but are not limited to):
• Walmart®
• Food Lion®
• Kroger®
• Giant®
• Shoppers®
• Martins®
Healthy Savings Frequently Asked Questions
Members age 21 and up who qualify are eligible for one hearing exam, fitting, and up to $2,000 toward hearing aids every 12 months.
For more information, contact our outreach team.
After a hospital stay, 56 meals will be delivered to a member’s home. This includes returning home after having a baby or moving from a nursing home back to the community. Talk to your care manager for details.
For more information, contact care management.
Members age 18 and up qualify if they have this issue from a chronic physical or mental condition, including cerebral palsy and developmental delay.
Once eligibility is confirmed, members may purchase up to $30 in products each quarter. Unused amounts will roll over. Any dollars not spent by the end of the year will expire. If a member disenrolls from Sentara Community Plan and later becomes a member again, any previously unused amounts are lost. The benefit would restart.
For more information, contact our outreach team.
Members with asthma qualify for one free mattress cover or protector and a pillowcase every two years.
For more information, contact our outreach team.
We care about your experience with us. Share your concerns and ideas at a Member Advisory Committee meeting. The meetings are interactive. Each meeting features a specific health or social topic, like housing, food, or education.
Meetings are held every quarter in locations across Virginia.
Learn more about these meetings.
For more information, contact care management.
For more information, contact our outreach team.
Sentara Health Plans partners with Rainbow Puppets to create a program that brings puppet shows to children. The shows feature puppets, music, and dance, and highlight that reading is fun!
Puppet shows are held at Title 1 schools, libraries, recreation centers, and local events.
Every child, pre-K to 6th grade, who attends receives an age-appropriate book to take home to continue the joy of reading. The books sponsored by Sentara Health Plans for 2023-2024 are “Wanda’s Wondrous Wetland” for toddlers through third grade, and “Virginia Treasures” for students in grades 4-6.
Sponsored by Sentara Health Plans Read, Learn, Grow.
Learn more about Rainbow Puppets.
Visit the Rainbow Touring Schedule to see when the show will be in our community.
Smoking Cessation is an online program that provides guides and tips to help eligible members stop smoking. This program is also covered as a medical benefit.
Members can visit the website for more information on wellness prevention and maintenance.
Get 24-hour doctor access for non-life-threatening health questions or medical needs, including medically necessary prescriptions and behavioral health concerns. You’ll speak with a board-certified doctor or licensed therapist at any time, from anywhere, by video conference or phone. It’s safe, secure, and confidential.
For more on MDLIVE, go to sentarahealthplans.com/mdlive or call 1-888-469-9198 (TTY: 711), 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This call is free.
Eligible members can get 24 round-trip rides per year to places like community events, grocery stores, laundromats, places of worship, and more.
To schedule a ride, call 1-877-892-3986 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
To find a participating provider, call VSP at 1-844-453-3378 (TTY: 711) or visit VSP.com/choice. VSP’s hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday. They are closed on Sunday.
Members under age 21
Routine eye examinations for all enrollees are allowed at least once every two years.
Each Sentara Community Plan Medicaid/FAMIS* member under age 21 is eligible to receive the following services:
- Writing of lens formulas and prescriptions
- Dispensing/fitting procedure
- Subsequent glasses adjustments as necessary
- If prescribed, each member is entitled to one of the following:*
- One pair of glasses with clear plastic single vision lenses, or
- One pair of glasses with multifocal plastic lenses, or
- One pair of glasses frames chosen from a selection on display in the provider’s office, or
- One pair of contact lenses, only if medically necessary
*Note: No more than one pair of glasses will be allowed within a 24 month period without a statement of medical need.
You are fully covered for these services and materials if they are provided by a VSP provider. If you select frames or lenses costing more than the amount covered by Sentara Health Plans, you are responsible for the additional charge.
Prior authorization is needed for contact lenses and only as a result of any of the following conditions:
- To correct extreme visual acuity problems that cannot be corrected with lenses,
- Certain conditions of anisometropia, or
- Keratoconus
Adult Vision for Members Age 21 and Over
Members at or over the age of 21 will receive the following benefit: one eye exam and $100 for frames each year. You must use an in-network provider. To find an in-network provider, call 1-844-453-3378 (TTY: 711) or visit online.
Eating for Life is an online program to help manage weight. It offers ways to help eligible members eat healthy and get exercise.
More on the Eating for Life program.
Welcoming Baby is an incentive-based program that provides guidance, support, and education to members who are pregnant and who have just given birth. This program is free to all members and gives you the information and resources you need to make good choices for you and your baby.
You must sign up for the program to get connected to a certified community health worker and other healthcare professionals who are there with you through your pregnancy. The program provides gifts and gift cards to members who complete certain health activities.
To sign up for the Welcoming Baby program email welcomingbaby@sentara.com or call 1-844-671-2108 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.