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Medicare Annual Wellness Visits

Did you know that Medicare pays for an annual wellness visit to help you reduce health risks? The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) is a chance to develop or update a personalized prevention plan (PPP) to help prevent disease and disability. It is a yearly “hands-off, clothes-on” assessment of your health.

Call 303-415-4015 to schedule your free Annual Wellness Visit today.

What is covered in a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit?

  • A review of the patient’s medical and family history
  • Develop or update list of current providers and prescriptions
  • Check height, weight, blood pressure, and other routine measurements
  • Detection of any cognitive impairment
  • Personalized health advice
  • A list of risk factors and treatment options
  • A screening schedule (like a checklist) for appropriate preventive services
  • Advance Care Planning

Routine physical exams are not covered by Medicare

Why you should have a Medicare Wellness Visit each year

You might think, or hear others ask, why go in for a wellness exam? The doctor doesn’t do anything. While a wellness visit is not a physical exam, your doctor performs a number of important assessments when you go in for this annual benefit. The AWV provides an opportunity to assess your current health and identify your health goals for the coming year. While not a head-to-toe physical exam, the results can help your doctor create a personalized health plan to address any current concerns and identify ways of preventing problems in the future.

Some of the benefits of completing the annual wellness visit:

  • Early detection helps prevent problems later
  • Health risks identified can mean health problems averted
  • Shared information helps your care team serve your needs
  • Screenings to help detect depression, risks for falling and other problems
  • Recommendations for other wellness services and healthy lifestyle changes
  • Discussion of Medicare-covered services that allow our care team to more closely monitor your health conditions and update your plan of care before office visits

It's important to note that these wellness visits do not include any clinical laboratory tests, however, the provider may separately order such tests during one of these visits. All laboratory tests are subject to Medicare’s applicable coverage guidelines and frequency limits. Deductible and coinsurance may be applied.

The wellness visits also do not include other routine preventive services that Medicare covers (i.e., Pelvic/Breast exam, Pap smear, Influenza and pneumonia vaccines, smoking cessation counseling, etc.). These services can be provided alongside one of the wellness visits and billed separately to Medicare. These services are subject to their own Medicare coverage guidelines and frequency limits. Deductible and coinsurance may be applied.

An additional office visit (E&M) service can be provided alongside one of the wellness visits and billed separately to Medicare if it is significant, separate and medically necessary to treat a new or established health problem, and is a way to provide multiple services to you within one visit. This service is subject to its own Medicare coverage guidelines and limitation. Deductible and coinsurance will be applied.

Contact us today

Call 303-415-4015 to schedule your free Annual Wellness Visit.

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