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Medicare guide · Preventive · 8 min read

Welcome to Medicare visit + Annual Wellness Visit — two free visits people miss.

Medicare provides two distinct preventive visits — both free, both often missed because beneficiaries assume they're physicals. Neither is a physical. Here's exactly what each covers, when to use them, and what else preventive Medicare covers free of charge.

One-time only · within first 12 months

Welcome to Medicare visit (Initial Preventive Physical Examination)

A one-time preventive visit you're entitled to during your first 12 months of Part B coverage. Not a physical — it's preventive screening + a written health plan.

What's included
  • Review of medical history, family history, social history, current medications
  • Height, weight, blood pressure, BMI
  • Visual acuity check
  • Cognitive function screening
  • Depression screening
  • Functional ability assessment (hearing, falls risk, ADLs)
  • Personalized prevention plan + checklist of recommended screenings
  • Advance care planning discussion (optional)
What you pay

$0. No coinsurance, no deductible. Free if performed by a provider who accepts Medicare assignment.

Important

Use it within your first 12 months on Part B. Miss the window and you can't claim it later — though you can still get the Annual Wellness Visit.

Yearly · every year after first 12 months

Annual Wellness Visit (AWV)

A yearly preventive visit available every year after your first 12 months on Part B (or starting your second year if you used the Welcome to Medicare visit).

What's included
  • Health Risk Assessment (often filled out before the visit)
  • Update of medical and family history
  • Update of medications, allergies, immunizations
  • List of providers
  • Height, weight, blood pressure, BMI
  • Cognitive function screening
  • Depression screening
  • Functional ability + falls risk
  • Personalized prevention plan with screening recommendations
  • Advance care planning (optional)
What you pay

$0. Free as long as the provider accepts assignment.

Important

Use it once every 12 months. Don't book before 365 days after your previous AWV — the second one in a year won't be covered.

What these visits are NOT — the physical Medicare won't cover

Both the Welcome to Medicare visit and the Annual Wellness Visit are NOT physicals. A traditional annual physical exam — head-to-toe physical examination including listening to heart and lungs, palpation, reflex testing — is not covered by Original Medicare or by most MA plans as a free benefit.

  • No physical exam. Medicare covers preventive screening, not "let me listen to your heart and belly." You can still get a physical, but it's billed separately and you pay (deductible + 20% with Original).
  • No EKG, lab work, or imaging unless it's a separate covered preventive screening (lipid panel, diabetes screening, etc. — see below).
  • If your provider does extra during the visit — addresses a new symptom, orders a non-screening test — they may bill that as a separate office visit. You'll owe deductible + 20% on the additional service.

Other free preventive services Medicare covers

Beyond the Welcome and AWV, Medicare covers many specific preventive services free (no deductible, no coinsurance) when furnished by a provider who accepts assignment.

Vaccines

  • COVID-19
  • Flu (annual)
  • Pneumonia
  • Hepatitis B
  • RSV (eligible adults)

Screenings — cancer

  • Mammogram (annual)
  • Colorectal (multiple options)
  • Cervical / Pap
  • Prostate (annual)
  • Lung cancer (smokers)

Screenings — chronic

  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Diabetes
  • Depression (annual)
  • Glaucoma (annual high-risk)
  • Bone density (women)

Counseling

  • Smoking cessation
  • Alcohol misuse
  • Obesity counseling (BMI 30+)
  • Sexually transmitted infection counseling

Therapeutic

  • Diabetes self-management training
  • Medical nutrition therapy
  • Cardiac rehab (post-event)
  • Pulmonary rehab (COPD)

Other

  • Diabetic eye exam (annual high-risk)
  • Hepatitis C screening
  • HIV screening
  • Wellness visit follow-up consults
Important: the LIST of free preventive services keeps changing. Medicare adds new screenings each year. Check medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services for the current list, or ask your provider during your AWV — they'll recommend what's appropriate based on your age, sex, and history.

How to get the most out of these visits

  1. Schedule the Welcome to Medicare visit ASAP — within your first 6 months. Don't wait until month 11; you'll forget.
  2. Bring a list of your medications with dosages. Bring a list of your other providers and any recent lab results.
  3. Bring questions — this is also your chance to set health goals with your provider.
  4. Verify the billing code — your provider should use G0438 (initial AWV) or G0439 (subsequent AWV) or G0402 (Welcome to Medicare visit). If they bill a regular office visit code, you'll owe the deductible + 20%. Call billing if you receive a charge for what should have been free.
  5. Annual reminder — set a yearly calendar reminder for your next AWV. Your provider's office may not proactively schedule it.
Run the comparison

Make sure your plan supports the providers you want

Original Medicare gives the most provider freedom for these visits. MA plans require in-network providers — verify your PCP is in your MA plan's network before booking.

Compare for $49
Related guides
Sources
· CMS — Welcome to Medicare visit (G0402) and Annual Wellness Visit (G0438/G0439) coverage rules
· Medicare.gov — Preventive screening services current list
· CMS — Preventive Services payment policies (no copay, no deductible when assignment accepted)