Back to dashboard
CommercialPrior AuthHigh impact

Medical and Clinical Policy Updates - Effective October 1, 2026

Sentara Health Plans·VA · Orthopedics, General Surgery, Plastic Surgery +5 more·Medical Policy
Effective date
Oct 1, 2026
We identified it
Jul 14, 2026
Days to comply
79 days

Summary

Effective October 1, 2026, Sentara Health Plans is implementing multiple coverage and prior authorization changes across Virginia for Commercial, Medicaid, and Medicare products. Key changes include: new prior authorization requirements for common orthopedic procedures (knee/hip arthroplasty, ankle revision), home health nursing services with benefit restrictions, new non-covered services (personal care, habilitation waivers, certain vaccines), and specific oncology lab work requiring OncoHealth contact. Billing teams must immediately update systems to enforce these requirements to avoid claim denials.

Action Required

Before Oct 1, 2026
By September 15, 2026: Billing team must perform the following in priority order: (1) Update billing software to REQUIRE prior authorization for 16 orthopedic procedure codes (27138, 27437, 27438, 27440, 27442, 27446, 27447, 27486, 23470, 19340, L1320, 22860, 27703, A9506, S2260, S2267) for Commercial plans; (2) Configure system to flag code 86152 and require routing to OncoHealth for prior auth approval on all plan types; (3) Set codes T1000, G0299, G0300 to show benefit restrictions/limits in patient eligibility; (4) BLOCK billing for 25 codes (T1018-T1022, T1027, T1040, T1041, T2012-T2022, H2040, G2212, 90738, 90758, 90589, 90593, 90625) - mark as NOT COVERED for Commercial plans; (5) Update encounter forms and templates to alert providers of prior auth requirements for orthopedic, breast, and disc procedures; (6) Train front desk to verify benefits before scheduling surgeries; (7) Configure separate rules for Medicaid (codes 22860, 27703, S9365-S9367 require prior auth only). Failure to implement prior auth will result in automatic claim denials for orthopedic procedures. Failure to block non-covered codes will result in patient financial liability and claim denials.

Affected Billing Codes

58660
58673
G0299
G0300
T1000
86152
A9506
S2260
S2267
19340
23470
27138
27437
27438
27440
27442
27446
27447
27486
L1320
22860
27703
S9365
S9366
S9367
T1018
T1019
T1020
T1022
T1027
T1040
T1041
T2012
T2013
T2014
T2015
T2016
T2017
T2018
T2019
T2020
T2021
T2022
H2040
G2212
90738
90758
90589
90593
90625