You are eligible for your first Medicare Annual Wellness Visit once you have had Medicare Part B for more than 12 months. After your first wellness visit, you can have one every 12 months at no cost. This is different from the one-time Welcome to Medicare preventive visit, which is available within the first 12 months of Medicare enrollment.

The Annual Wellness Visit focuses on prevention and planning rather than diagnosis and treatment. There is no head-to-toe physical examination or blood work as part of the wellness visit itself. Instead, we review your health history, assess your risks, create a personalized prevention plan, and recommend appropriate screenings. If you need a physical exam with blood work to address specific symptoms, that would be scheduled separately and may have different Medicare coverage.

Please bring your Medicare card, photo ID, a list of all current medications including dosages (or bring the actual medication bottles), a list of vitamins and supplements you take, your immunization records if available, and any recent medical records or test results from other providers. Also bring a list of any health concerns or questions you want to discuss. If you have completed a Health Risk Assessment form from Medicare, bring that as well.

At PremierMD, we schedule 45 to 60 minutes for your Medicare Annual Wellness Visit. This gives us enough time to complete the required health risk assessment, review your medications thoroughly, discuss your prevention plan, and answer all your questions without rushing. Many other practices only allow 15-20 minutes, which is not enough time for meaningful conversation about your health.

Yes, you can discuss other health concerns during your wellness visit. However, if we need to address new problems that require diagnosis or treatment—such as knee pain, a rash, or chest discomfort—those services go beyond the scope of the wellness visit and will be billed separately to Medicare. We will always tell you if something falls outside the wellness visit coverage before providing additional services. Many patients choose to schedule a separate appointment to address new symptoms.

Medicare covers one Annual Wellness Visit every 12 months. Your next wellness visit cannot be scheduled until at least 11 months have passed since your last one. For example, if you had your wellness visit in January 2024, your next one can be scheduled anytime in December 2024 or later. This annual schedule helps us track your health changes over time and update your prevention plan as you age.

No, we welcome new patients for Medicare Annual Wellness Visits. However, we do recommend establishing care with us as your primary care provider so we can follow up on any screening recommendations and provide ongoing comprehensive care. Many patients choose to have their wellness visit as their first appointment with us and then continue their care at PremierMD. We accept most Medicare Advantage plans in addition to Original Medicare.

After your wellness visit, you will receive a written copy of your personalized prevention plan with specific recommendations for screenings, vaccines, and lifestyle changes. We will schedule any needed follow-up appointments or screenings right away. If we identified any health risks that need monitoring, we will create a plan to track those over time. You will also receive a summary of the visit in your patient portal within a few days. We encourage you to refer to your prevention plan throughout the year and call us with any questions.