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Medicare Preventive Services


Medicare preventive services typically come at no cost. These services benefit all people on Medicare, regardless of if they have Medicare Advantage or Original Medicare. Medicare encourages beneficiaries to be proactive with their care by scheduling yearly appointments to prevent significant health risks.

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Your Guide to Medicare Preventive Services

Medicare preventive services consist of a multitude of health screenings. These include lab tests, exams, immunizations, health monitoring programs, counseling, and more. During your Annual Wellness Visit and Welcome to Medicare Visit, your doctor reviews the results of these screenings. 

While most preventive services are available at no cost to you, any treatment needed following test results is not. Part A and Medicare Part B cover treatments, depending on whether the care takes place in an inpatient or outpatient setting.

Medicare covers several types of appointments for preventive services. Beneficiaries use these services to stay on top of their health and receive valuable information from their doctor regarding family health history. Below, we discuss the types of preventive services Medicare covers and how to utilize them.

Welcome to Medicare Visit

The Welcome to Medicare visit is an introductory appointment available to all Medicare beneficiaries within the first year of enrolling. This preventive appointment costs the beneficiary nothing if their doctor or qualified health care provider accepts Medicare assignment.

You can expect your doctor to give you advice and counseling to help you prevent disease, improve your overall health, and discuss ways to stay well.

Annual Wellness Visit

The Annual Wellness Visit is your yearly check-in to discuss your health and wellness with your healthcare provider. This visit is free of charge if you’ve had Part B for at least 12 months and your doctor accepts Medicare.

During this appointment, it is likely that you will also schedule further preventative care based on individual needs assessed by your doctor.

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Routine Physical

The preventive exam doesn’t include physical tests such as lung exams and reflexes. But, if there is a symptom that necessitates that kind of screening, Medicare will cover it. Medicare does not cover routine physicals.

So, you will pay 100% of the cost for the exam. The average cost of a routine physical without insurance ranges from $50 to $200, although prices vary.

Medicare’s Preventive Care Service Checklist

Created by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Medicare Preventative Services Checklist allows beneficiaries to keep track of the services that should be performed at their preventative appointments.

The checklist provides a list of all preventative services. Keep in mind, not every person will need to complete all the items on the checklist each year. Be sure to speak with your doctor to understand which preventative services are right for you.

What’s On Medicare’s Preventive Services Checklist?

Below are the items CMS provides on their checklist of preventive services Medicare covers.

How to Get Full Coverage for Preventive Services with Medicare

We hope you found this list of Medicare preventive services helpful! Most preventive care services have 100% coverage if your doctor accepts Medicare assignment. However, some diagnostic services require out-of-pocket costs. For situations such as these, Medigap coverage will help with coverage.

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Jagger Esch

Jagger Esch is the Medicare expert for MedicareFAQ and the founder, president, and CEO of Elite Insurance Partners and MedicareFAQ.com. Since the inception of his first company in 2012, he has been dedicated to helping those eligible for Medicare by providing them with resources to educate themselves on all their Medicare options. He is featured in many publications as well as writes regularly for other expert columns regarding Medicare.

One thought on “Medicare Preventive Services

  1. It took me forever to find this page. Previously, I was able to go to MyMedicare for a list of currently eligible Preventative Services. This way I could plan ahead and know which test my doctor could schedule. I just had a Cholesterol blood test and Medicare denied payment. Can’t believe that test is only eligible once every five years. Had no way of knowing this and I’m guessing my doctor wasn’t aware of this also..

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