Medicare Wellness Visit
If you're enrolled in Medicare, you have access to an important annual benefit: the Medicare Wellness Visit. This visit is designed specifically to help you and your provider stay ahead of health issues before they become serious — and it's covered by Medicare at no cost to you.
At Gilbert Center, we help you make the most of this benefit by using the time to truly understand your health status and create a plan that fits your life.
What's Included in Your Medicare Wellness Visit
Your Medicare Wellness Visit is not a routine physical exam — it's a proactive, prevention-focused visit that builds a health roadmap for the year. During your visit, we will:
Assess Your Current Health
Review your medical and family history. Check your vital signs and calculate your BMI. Update your list of current medications and known allergies. Evaluate your cognitive health and screen for signs of memory concerns. Screen for depression and other behavioral health factors.
Identify Your Health Risks
Review functional ability and safety at home (fall risk, hearing, vision). Discuss lifestyle factors including physical activity, nutrition, tobacco, and alcohol use. Identify any gaps in preventive screenings based on your age and history.
Build a Personalized Prevention Plan
Develop a written schedule of screenings and services appropriate for you. Provide referrals for recommended tests such as colonoscopy, mammogram, or bone density scan. Update your vaccination status and recommend any needed immunizations. Discuss advance care planning if you're ready to have that conversation.
Welcome to Medicare Preventive Visit: If you're new to Medicare, your first year includes a special "Welcome to Medicare" visit. This one-time visit must take place within the first 12 months of your Part B enrollment. It includes a full health review, vision test, depression screening, and a referral for a routine EKG. After that first year, you're eligible for the Annual Wellness Visit every 12 months. Think of it as a standing check-in with your health.
Frequently Asked Questions
Medicare Part B covers the Medicare Wellness Visit at 100% when you see a participating provider. However, if additional services are performed during the same visit — such as lab work or evaluation of a new health problem — those may be billed separately and subject to your deductible or copay.
The Medicare Wellness Visit is specifically designed for prevention planning, not the evaluation or treatment of illness. If you need a traditional physical or want to address a health concern, that visit may be billed differently. Let us know what you need when you call and we'll help you plan accordingly.
It helps to bring a complete list of your current medications (including over-the-counter drugs and supplements), your insurance card, and any recent lab or imaging results from other providers. If you'd like to discuss advance care planning, bringing your current directives is helpful.
Absolutely. We welcome family members or caregivers to join you for your visit, especially if they help support your health day-to-day.
Schedule Your Medicare Wellness Visit
Call our office or book online.