Medicare Annual Wellness Visit
While Medicare does not cover a routine physical exam, it does cover 100% of the cost for your Annual Wellness Visit with no out-of-pocket expense to you.
Check with your primary care provider to see if you are able due for your Annual Wellness Visit.
What will this visit include?
- A review of your medical and family history
- Developing or updating a list of your current providers and over-the-counter, herbal and prescription medications
- A check of blood pressure, height, weight, and vision
- Detection of any cognitive impairment
- Personalized health advice
- A list of risk factors and treatment options for you
- A screening checklist for future preventative wellness services and healthy changes
Common Preventative Screening Services that may be covered by Medicare Part B?
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening
- Advanced Care Planning
- Alcohol and tobacco misuse screenings and counseling
- Bone density testing
- Cancer screenings, including cervical, vaginal, prostate, colorectal and lung
- Cardiovascular disease screening and therapy
- Glaucoma test
- Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections screenings
- Immunizations, including flu, Hepatitis B and Pneumococcal
- Nutrition therapy services, including diabetes self-management training and obesity counseling
What do I bring to the appointment?
- Medicare Annual Wellness Visit form (Fill out and bring to appointment)
- All your medications (including inhalers and Injectable), vitamins, eye drops, supplements and topical creams/ointments.
- The names of all the providers on your healthcare team including specialist (eye doctor, cardiologist, foot doctor, as well as medical equipment such as oxygen-CPAP supplies.)
- The more information you can share with your provider, the more complete the overall picture of your health will be.
What do I pay?
There is no cost for your Annual Wellness Visit. However, if you want your provider to address other medical concerns (Like a sore knee or other medical conditions), you may need to reschedule your Wellness Visit so your acute concern(s) can be addressed, at which point, your Part B deductible or copay may apply.
How do I schedule my Medicare Annual Wellness Visit?
- Contact your primary care provider
Other types of exams/ visit covered by Medicare
There are three exams/ visits covered by Medicare including Initial Preventative Physical Exam which is a (Welcome to Medicare) exam within the first year of Medicare eligibility. The Initial Preventative Physical Exam is the only Annual Wellness Visit that includes a physical exam.
The other two visits, Initial Annual Wellness Visit and the Subsequent Annual Wellness Visit do not include a physical exam. These visits are primarily focused on updating your health risk assessment and personal prevention plan.
Additional questions & FAQ’s
To view a list of common questions and answers visit our FAQ page.
If you have questions on what Medicare does and does not cover, you can call 1-800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) or see your “Medicare and You” booklet that is published every year by Medicare and mailed to you. Or go to their website (https://www.medicare.gov/publications/10050-Medicare-and-You.pdf) for a more in-depth explanation.