Medicare will now pay for an Annual Wellness Visit and certain screening tests without deductibles or copays. We encourage you to have one every year and want you to be aware of the specific Medicare guidelines for the wellness visit. An Annual Wellness Visit is not a comprehensive physical exam.

The Annual Wellness Visit is a talking visit that will help you and your care team create an ongoing health plan to keep you healthy, safe, and independent for a long time.

Your Annual Wellness Visit will include:

  • Review of your medical history
  • Review of your Wellness Visit Questionnaire
  • Review of appropriate preventive screenings
  • Review of your medications – please bring your pill bottles, including supplements and vitamins
  • If desired, an advance care planning discussion

Your primary care team will use this information to:

  • Form a prevention plan, including appropriate health screenings
  • If necessary, refer you to community-based programs to promote wellness, such as fall prevention, physical activity, quitting tobacco, and weight loss

If your provider determines additional testing is needed, there may be a copay associated with some services. Please call your insurance company with coverage questions.

If time allows, your provider might want to take care of some of your medical problems while you are there. This will:

  • Not be covered under the Annual Wellness Visit, and copays will apply.
  • Save you time and effort of returning for another visit, where copays would apply.
  • If you don’t want your provider to address any of your existing medical problems or new ones, please let them know.

Contact St. Peter’s Health Medical Group at 457-4180 to schedule your wellness visit, or for any questions about Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visits.

Thank you for your interest in Medicare’s new focus on prevention. Our goal as your primary care team is to help you stay in control of your health. We look forward to seeing you at your visit.

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