How To Pay Your Sentara Bill Online: A Complete Guide

Dealing with medical bills can be confusing and stressful. You want to make sure you pay your healthcare provider on time, but you also need to understand the charges and your payment options. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about paying your Sentara healthcare bill online.

We’ll cover how to set up an account, view billing statements, make payments, set up payment plans, and manage your Sentara medical bills digitally. Read on for tips to pay your Sentara bill smoothly and avoid any unnecessary fees or headaches

Sentara Healthcare is a non-profit health system serving Virginia and parts of North Carolina. They operate over a dozen hospitals as well as outpatient centers, imaging sites and primary care offices.

If you receive care from Sentara, you’ll get bills for hospital visits, doctor appointments, labs, imaging, and other services. In the past, Sentara mailed paper billing statements to patients.

Now they offer an online bill pay system called Sentara Bill Pay. This provides a secure digital platform to:

• Review itemized statements
• Check insurance coverage
• View balance due
• Make payments
• Set up payment plans
• Manage statements for the whole family

Below I’ll go through everything involved in the Sentara billing and payment process so you know what to expect.

Steps To Start Paying Your Sentara Bill Online

Follow these steps to get set up for online payments with Sentara Bill Pay:

1. Get registration info – After receiving care, Sentara will mail you instructions for setting up your account. This includes your account number.

2. Go to Sentara Bill Pay site – Go to the website Sentara.VisitPay.com and click “Get Started”

3. Enter account number – Register your account with the unique account number from Sentara.

4. Set username & password – Create secure login credentials you will use to access your account.

5. Provide contact info – Enter your address, phone number, and email address for your profile.

Once registered, you can start viewing and paying your Sentara bills digitally. I recommend setting up email alerts so you are notified when new bills are available.

View & Manage Sentara Billing Statements Online

Inside your Sentara Bill Pay account, you can view billing statements and account activity. On your Summary page, you will see:

• Account balance
• Recent payments
• Payment plan details
• Recent statements
• Messages from Sentara

Click on “Statements” to see your full statements. These show services, charges, insurance adjustments, and the balance owed. Statements are generated monthly.

Here you can print, download, or view PDFs of statements going back several years. This digital access replaces mailed paper statements.

Pay Your Sentara Bill Through The Secure Portal

The Sentara Bill Pay portal gives you several options to pay your Sentara healthcare bills:

Pay bill in full

For a single statement balance, click “Pay Now” to enter payment details and pay in full immediately.

Schedule one-time payment

If you need to pay later, use the “Pay Later” option to select a future payment date.

Set up recurring payments

For routine smaller bills, you can create automatic recurring payments from your bank account.

Make a partial payment

If unable to pay the full balance, you can pay a portion immediately, then schedule additional payments.

Pay from multiple sources

Split payment between credit card, bank account, and debit card if needed.

The site accepts all major debit and credit cards, plus bank account (ACH) payments. You get instant payment confirmation and receipt through the portal.

Arrange Bill Payment Plans For Large Balances

Do you have a large Sentara medical bill that’s difficult to pay all at once?

Sentara Bill Pay allows you to set up customized monthly payment plans. This breaks your balance into smaller installment amounts over several months.

On your account, click “Payment Plans” to view and manage plans. Here are some tips for setting up a bill payment plan with Sentara:

• Review monthly statements and determine what you can reasonably pay.

• Enter the monthly payment amount you request and number of months needed.

• Sentara will review your proposed plan and may adjust it before approving.

• If approved, scheduled payments are withdrawn automatically each month on the due date.

• You can adjust or cancel future payments if needed.

Payment plans make large healthcare bills more affordable without getting sent to collections. Just be sure to setup payments you can manage each month.

Get Sentara Bill Pay Support By Phone Or Email

If you have any trouble with the Sentara billing or payment website, you can easily get support.

• Call – Sentara has dedicated billing customer support at 757-233-4500.

• Email – Send secure messages to the billing team through your account.

• Chat online – Look for the chat widget on pages to message a billing agent.

Support agents can help with questions on statements, insurance, payments, plans, and any issues with your accounts. Save their contact details so help is just a click or call away!

Tips For Managing Sentara Medical Bills Online

Here are some top tips for effectively managing your Sentara healthcare bills digitally:

• Sign up for text or email alerts about new bills and payments due.

• Download the Sentara app to access bill pay on your mobile device.

• Add family members to your account to track everyone’s bills together.

• Review statements closely and watch for billing errors or duplicate charges.

• Take advantage of payment plans for large balances if needed.

• Set payment reminders in your calendar for any scheduled payments.

• Contact support immediately if your payment doesn’t process properly.

• Keep all statements and receipts together for tax and medical records.

Benefits of Paying Sentara Bills Through Online Portal

Compared to mailing paper checks, the Sentara online bill payment system offers many key advantages:

• View statements and account activity digitally in one place

• Make one-time, recurring, or partial payments

• Set up customized monthly payment plans

• Avoid late fees with online reminders and tracking

• Get instant payment confirmation and receipts

• Securely store billing records and statements

• Access account anytime from computer or mobile device

• Quickly contact support by message, chat, phone, or email

Go paperless and simplify your medical billing process using the Sentara Bill Pay online portal and mobile app.

Paying Sentara Bill Without An Online Account

If you prefer not to set up the online bill pay account with Sentara, you have a couple options to pay without it:

• Mail payments – You can continue to mail check or money order payments to the address listed on your paper statements. Allow 7-10 days for mailed payments to process.

• Pay as guest – You can make one-time payments as a guest through the online bill pay portal without registering your account. However, you won’t be able to view full statements or set up payment plans as a guest.

• Auto-pay enrollment – Sign up for recurring automatic payments from your bank account without using the full online portal. Contact billing support to enroll.

But managing payments through the full digital Sentara Bill Pay account provides the most convenient billing and payment experience.

Avoid Late Fees And Collections With On-Time Payments

It’s important to pay your Sentara bills fully and on time to avoid penalty fees or collections actions. Sentara outlines their billing policies and timelines:

• Statements are generated monthly with payment due within 30 days.

• If unpaid after 30 days, a $10 late fee is assessed to the account.

• Accounts over 90 days past due may be placed with a collections agency.

• You have 120 days from the billing date to pay in full or risk further collections impacts.

Don’t let medical bills go unpaid and risk hitting your credit score. Set payment reminders through the Sentara Bill Pay system so you never miss a payment due date.

Get Support From Sentara Financial Assistance

If you simply can’t afford your Sentara medical bills, ask about financial assistance options:

• Payment plans – Extend payments over 12-24 months interest-free based on your budget.

• Discounts – If eligible based on income, you may qualify for reduced-rate care.

• Medicaid – See if you qualify for Medicaid to cover all or part of your Sentara bills.

• Charity care – Sentara offers financial help for uninsured low-income individuals.

Don’t ignore bills and go into debt without exploring ways Sentara may be able to help. Call them to discuss your specific situation confidentially.

Pay Your Sentara Bill With Ease Online

Sign up for a Sentara Bill Pay account to conveniently manage statements, payments