Once you enroll in Medicare, you’ll have comprehensive health-care benefits right at your fingertips.

One of the most valuable of these may be an annual wellness visit, or a review of your current health with a primary care doctor. When attended yearly, this service can better enable you to stay on top of your ongoing needs and maintain a lifestyle of wellness. Read on to learn more about the fundamentals of it, including what’s not covered and what you can expect at each visit.

What is an annual wellness visit?

According to Medicare’s website, this service is designed for you to “develop or update your personalized plan to help prevent disease or disability, based on your current health and risk factors.” Think of it as a brief annual discussion of your overall medical needs with your doctor. To qualify, you will need to have been enrolled in Part B for at least twelve months by your appointment date. Additionally, it must have been at least twelve months since your “Welcome to Medicare” appointment, if you had one.

If you see a physician who accepts Medicare, one wellness visit per year should be completely free. However, you may be charged a fee for conducting a second visit less than one year later or if your doctor performs additional services that aren’t typically included in a standard exam. For example, because this is meant to simply a be checkup, your physician may charge you extra if you discuss a specific health concern such as back pain or vomiting. The costs may include your Part B deductible or coinsurance.

Unfortunately, your doctor may not notify you during your consultation which services are considered outside of your annual wellness visit. If you want to avoid paying any extra fees, arrive at your appointment with a solid understanding of what to expect.

What does an annual wellness visit entail?

Medicare’s guidelines have laid out the integral components of these yearly consultations. Each element helps your physician assess your current health and fine-tune your plan to better prevent future issues.

Questionnaire
At your visit, your doctor will help you fill out a Health Risk Assessment that compiles basic data about you, including your:

• Routine measurements, such as height, weight, and blood pressure
• Personal medical history, including any prior diseases or surgeries
• Family history of health conditions
• List of medications you are currently taking or have recently used

Note that this is the primary way your physician will gauge your existing health. But there is a crucial exception to this process that many Medicare subscribers may not expect: it will not incorporate a routine physical exam, meaning your doctor will not inspect your skin, eyes, heart, lungs, or other essential systems for any potential issues. However, you can elect to undergo such testing for an added fee.

Mental health assessment
After reviewing your information, your doctor will assess your cognitive health for signs of dementia like Alzheimer’s disease. This assessment is included in your Medicare wellness visit and should therefore be free, though discussions of other mental health conditions like anxiety or depression may not be.

Health recommendations
From there, your doctor may offer personalized health advice for remaining healthy and reducing your risk of any future health issues. For example, if you have a family history of heart disease and a personal history of high blood pressure, they may recommend making dietary changes to better safeguard your cardiovascular health. They will then help you schedule ongoing preventative services based on your age and needs, such as a colon cancer screening or flu vaccine.

At this point, your doctor may suggest additional testing or request more details about your current health needs. If you want to ensure that your visit is 100 percent free, you can ask them to explain which services Medicare will cover and what may be outside of a typical annual wellness visit before electing to proceed.

Planning guidance
Another covered service you can opt to take advantage of during your wellness visit is advance care planning, or the preparing of a legal document that establishes your future care wishes. There are two sections of this crucial form:

1. Naming a health-care proxy to make decisions on your behalf regarding medical needs should you be rendered unable to do so
2. Establishing your living will, or your preferences regarding life support, organ donation, and more

Many patients are unaware that these services are included with their Medicare wellness visits, so if you’re interested in making these decisions or even simply discussing their implications, be sure to mention advance care planning to your doctor.

While many people only feel the need to see a physician when they feel sick or hurt, staying on top of annual wellness visits may help you remain healthy and identify any issues early, making this one of the most crucial components of your Medicare policy. If you have questions or concerns about enrolling in Medicare, what services you qualify for, and how to utilize this coverage to the fullest, consider contacting an insurance professional to learn more.