As we age, staying connected to our care team becomes an important part of staying healthy. But you don’t always need to schedule a traditional checkup to do that.
That’s where a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) comes in. An AWV isn’t a physical exam. Instead, it’s a comfortable, conversation‑focused visit designed to keep you healthy, catch risks early and guide you toward the preventive screenings and lifestyle choices that will support long‑term wellness.
What is a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit?
A Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is a no-cost benefit and a chance to talk to your care team about your health. The purpose of an Annual Wellness Visit is to encourage people to take a more active role in managing their health to improve their well-being and quality of life.
During your Annual Wellness Visit, you and your care team will review how you’re feeling overall, assess your health risks and see if you need anything to help keep you healthy and happy.
What to expect during your Medicare Annual Wellness Visit
Each year, your Annual Wellness Visit might include things like:
- A health questionnaire to help guide your conversation
- A review of and updates to your medical and family history
- Making or updating a list of your doctors and medicines or supplements
- Measurements of your height, weight and blood pressure
- Observations of any difficulty thinking or remembering
- Recommendations for screening tests, shots and other care you might need during the year
- Suggestions for ways to start, maintain or increase physical activity
- Thoughts about changes in mood, stress level or overall mental health
- Ideas to address everything from bladder control issues to balance and walking concerns
- Discussing how your test results will be shared with you (over the phone, MyChart, etc.)
Your Annual Wellness Visit won’t cost you a thing, as long as you go to a care team or doctor that’s in network for your Medicare plan. If they recommend any extra care or tests or procedures during your visit, you might be charged for the extra care outside of your Annual Wellness Visit. You can always call your insurance company to check how much additional care will cost before you get it.
HealthPartners members can call Member Services at the phone number on the back of their member ID card for more information.
Who is eligible for a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit?
To be eligible for an Annual Wellness Visit, you must have Medicare Part B. You become eligible for your first Annual Wellness Visit 12 months after your Part B coverage begins.
- If you’ve had Medicare for more than one year, you get one covered wellness visit each year, either in person or through a telehealth virtual visit that’s available with many Medicare plans.
- If you’ve had Medicare for less than one year, you should schedule a similar “Welcome to Medicare” visit first. Then you’ll be able to schedule Annual Wellness Visits once you’ve had your plan for more than 12 months.
Is a “Welcome to Medicare” visit different than an Annual Wellness Visit?
Yes. Both visits are important, but in different ways. A “Welcome to Medicare” visit serves as an initial conversation with your doctor, building a foundation for the future of your health care as a Medicare member. An Annual Wellness Visit is a yearly appointment that allows you to update your preventive health plan or create a new one based on your current health.
Top 4 reasons to schedule an Annual Wellness Visit
1. An Annual Wellness Visit isn’t the same as an annual physical
An Annual Wellness Visit isn’t a physical exam, just a helpful conversation with your doctor about your health. If you’re experiencing new symptoms, need bloodwork done or want to switch medications, scheduling a physical with your primary care provider may be a better choice for you. Many clinics allow you to do both your Annual Wellness Visit and a physical during the same or back-to-back appointments too.
2. It’s a no-cost visit covered by Medicare Part B
Annual Wellness Visits are 100% covered when you go to an in-network provider. If extra care, tests or procedures are given during the same appointment as your Annual Wellness Visit, there may be an out-of-pocket cost to you for those services, but the Annual Wellness Visit itself is always free.
Why you might have costs after an Annual Wellness Visit
Annual Wellness Visits are 100% covered when you go to an in-network provider. But Medicare doesn’t cover the diagnosis or treatment of new health concerns or medication changes as part of an Annual Wellness Visit. During your appointment, if you need lab work, imaging or procedures other than preventive screenings, there could be an additional cost for those services.
For example, if you mention that you’ve been having episodes of dizziness the last few months, your doctor may want to do bloodwork and a physical exam to see what’s going on. Since these services aren’t included in the Annual Wellness Visit, you could be responsible for your plan’s cost sharing even though the additional services take place during the same appointment.
As you reach certain stages in life, conversations with your doctor about a pre-existing condition, family health history or current symptoms become more likely and may shift parts of your visit from preventive to regular office visits, which may have a cost.
To avoid surprises on your bill:
- Make sure you’re scheduling an Annual Wellness Visit when you make the appointment
- Request advance notice from your doctor before addressing non- Annual Wellness Visit topics
- Be aware that the questions you ask might be covered differently depending on the topic
3. It can help you stay active and independent
During your Annual Wellness Visit, you can get advice about things like improving your mental health, lowering your risk of falling and building healthy habits, so you can keep enjoying life on your terms.
4. You could earn a $100 rewards card (if eligible)
If you’re a HealthPartners Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO) plan member, you can earn a $100 rewards card after completing your Annual Wellness Visit. It’s one of the incentives offered by your MSHO plan and our way of saying thank you for taking care of yourself.
Is a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit mandatory?
No, Annual Wellness Visits aren’t mandatory, but they’re strongly recommended by your care team. Plus, they’re a unique benefit available only to Medicare members. Even if you’re feeling great, scheduling an Annual Wellness Visit each year can help you make the most of your coverage and stay healthy.
How to prepare for your Medicare Annual Wellness Visit
The more you prepare for your visit, the easier it will be for your care team to make the best health recommendations for you. Here’s a simple checklist to help you get started.
Write a list of questions to ask
Use this list to help spark ideas:
- What preventive screenings do I need this year?
- Are my medications still the best options for me?
- Is there anything I should change in my diet, exercise or routine?
- Based on my risk factors, what should I focus on most this year?
- Are there any vaccines I’m due for?
- What can I do at home to make it easier and safer to get around?
Gather important documents and health information
To make the most of your visit, it can be helpful to bring important documents with you. Sharing your family health history, recent medical and immunization records and a list of your medicines with your care team can help them provide the best advice.
Your Annual Wellness Visit is also an excellent time to check that your clinic has a copy of your advance directive on file. This legal document provides instructions for medical care in the event you can’t communicate your needs for yourself.
Depending on your situation, your advance directive could be a living will or durable power of attorney. If you don’t have an advance directive of any kind but you’re interested in starting that process, ask your care team for guidance.