Earlier, we talked about all you need to know about Medicare Annual Wellness Visits. Today, we will look at some more questions you may have, such as: is the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit mandatory? Does Medicare require a Wellness Visit every year? And, do Medicare Wellness Visits need to be 12 months apart?
What is the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit?
The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is, as the name says, a once-in-a-year visit to your doctor to evaluate your general wellness and well-being.
Why is the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit important?
The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit plays a very significant role in your preventative care because it gives your primary care physician a lot of the information they need to create a health and well-being plan specifically for you.
Medicare Annual Wellness Visits are an unhurried one-on-one with your care provider
Instead of the average 20-minute-long appointment, a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit may run up to one hour.
During this time, you will fill out a questionnaire to assess possible risks to your health, and your primary care provider will go over your medical history, discuss any changes to your mental and physical well-being since your last visit, vaccinations you’ve had, all the medications you take and any side effects experienced, your diet and nutrition, exercise, and so on.
Although the visit is not a physical exam, your care provider may want to record your height, weight, blood pressure, and other routine measurements. Your doctor may also want to check your cognitive functioning to see if you are at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
During the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit, your primary care physician may also want to talk with you about advance care planning. This is a plan about your preferences for care when you are no longer physically or mentally able to make informed decisions about your well-being.
Medicare Annual Wellness Visits are completely free of charge for seniors aged 65 years and above
In Original Medicare, Part B is optional — you can ‘buy’ it upon payment of a monthly premium. In Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans, Parts A and B are bundled together under a single premium.
Everyone with Part B coverage gets one Medicare Annual Wellness Visit each year, completely free of cost if your doctor accepts assignment.
The Part B deductible does not apply to your visit, and you do not have to contribute towards other out of pocket costs like copayments or coinsurance.
Note: The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is NOT an annual physical, which may require you to pay out of pocket costs. Always schedule your Medicare Annual Wellness Visit by name so that Medicare covers the full cost for you.
Is the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit mandatory?
Not at all. ‘Mandatory’ is a strong word, implying that someone is going to force the visit upon you.
It is entirely up to you to schedule your Medicare Annual Wellness Visit, but it is such a great (and FREE!) benefit that good doctors recommend it.
Medicare Annual Wellness Visits may catch health troubles in time
A big issue with healthcare in general is that many people avoid going to the doctor unless it is absolutely necessary. When they do go, the focus is on fixing the problem at hand. Once the problem is fixed, everyone goes their separate ways, meeting again only when another problem pops up.
The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is part of the preventative care process. This means it may help catch a disease or disorder before it happens, or in the earlier stages before the problem becomes too serious, even life-threatening.
Catching an illness early makes it easier to treat, perhaps even cure. At the very least, preventative care can keep a disease from blowing out of control.
Take type 2 diabetes, for instance. According to the National Diabetes Prevention Program, 8 in 10 adults don’t know they are prediabetic and at risk of developing full-blown diabetes if they do not take preventative measures. During a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit chat, your doctor may pick up on symptoms of diabetes and advise you to get tested.
Does Medicare require a Wellness Visit every year?
Again, this is not so much a requirement by Medicare as it is a benefit to you.
Do Medicare Wellness Visits need to be 12 months apart?
Yes. Here’s how it works.
The Initial Enrollment Period is a stretch of 7 months in your 65th year, during which you enroll in a Medicare plan, either Original or Advantage, for the first time as a senior adult.
In your first year as a Medicare beneficiary, you will receive one free, optional Welcome to Medicare preventative visit. This is not an annual physical and neither is it classified as a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (although the two are sort of kind of similar).
12 months after the Welcome to Medicare visit, you get one free, optional but highly recommended Medicare Annual Wellness Visit.
12 months after your first Medicare Annual Wellness Visit, you become eligible for your next free Medicare Annual Wellness Visit. This pattern continues for as long as you remain enrolled in Medicare Part B.
Scheduling your Medicare Annual Wellness Visit
Patients receiving care from a responsible health center can rest assured that someone is looking out for them, because a representative from their provider’s clinic will call to remind them when their next Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is due.
The representative may also schedule their appointment for them at the earliest opportunity.
Make the most of preventative care opportunities
Being ill, whether from a chronic disease or an acute illness, at any age is exhausting. It can be especially difficult for senior adults. The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is a valuable tool to keep your doctor posted about your health, so do make the most of it.