Key Takeaways
- Medicare Part B covers many preventive screenings, wellness visits and counseling services.
- The Welcome to Medicare visit is available during your first 12 months of Part B coverage.
- Yearly wellness visits help update your health risks and personalized prevention plan.
- Eligible services may include cancer, diabetes, heart health and depression screenings.
- Medicare Part B and Part D cover different recommended vaccines for eligible adults.
- Many preventive services cost $0, but eligibility and additional services can affect costs.
Preventive care can help protect your health before a problem becomes serious. Screenings, vaccines, wellness visits, and counseling can identify risks early and support better decisions.
Medicare Part B covers many preventive and screening services, including wellness visits, cancer screenings, diabetes services, cardiovascular screenings, vaccines, and behavioral counseling. Medicare states that most covered preventive services cost nothing when you meet the eligibility requirements and receive care from a provider who accepts assignment.
What Counts as Preventive Care Under Medicare?
Preventive care focuses on finding health risks early and lowering the chance of illness or complications. Medicare includes exams, lab tests, screenings, vaccines, counseling, monitoring programs, and education. Eligibility can depend on age, medical history, family history, smoking history, current conditions, and plan rules.
Welcome to Medicare Preventive Visit
Medicare Part B covers one “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit during the first 12 months after your Part B coverage begins. During this visit, your clinician can review your medical and social history. medications, body mass index, vision, depression risk, vaccination needs, and recommended screenings.
Your provider can also discuss referrals and advance care planning. Medicare makes an important distinction: this preventive visit is not a comprehensive routine physical exam.
Yearly Medicare Wellness Visit
Medicare also covers a yearly wellness visit for eligible beneficiaries. This visit focuses on prevention and gives your clinician a chance to update your health risk assessment, medications, medical and family history, basic measurements, and personalized prevention plan.
The wellness visit does not replace a problem-focused appointment. Tell your care team about new symptoms, pain, medication concerns, or uncontrolled conditions.
Cancer Screenings Medicare May Cover
Medicare covers several cancer screening services when patients meet specific eligibility rules. These may include screening mammograms, colorectal cancer screenings, cervical and vaginal cancer screenings, prostate cancer screenings, and annual low-dose CT lung cancer screening for eligible people with the required age and smoking history.
Screening schedules differ. Medicare generally covers screening mammograms every 12 months for eligible patients. It covers screening colonoscopies at intervals based partly on colorectal cancer risk. Your primary care clinician can help determine which screenings match your age, history, and risk factors.
Diabetes Screening and Prevention
Diabetes can develop without obvious early symptoms. Medicare Part B covers diabetes screenings for eligible beneficiaries and covers the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program for qualifying people who want help lowering their risk of type 2 diabetes.
For people who already have diabetes, Medicare may cover diabetes self-management training and medical nutrition therapy when eligibility requirements apply. Primary care also helps patients monitor blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, medications, and other factors that affect long-term health.
Heart and Cholesterol Screening
Medicare Part B covers cardiovascular disease screening blood tests once every five years. These tests can check cholesterol, lipid, and triglyceride levels and help identify risk factors for heart attack and stroke.
These preventive screenings can become especially important for people who also manage diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, high blood pressure, or other cardiovascular risk factors.
Mental Health and Depression Screening
Preventive care includes emotional well-being. Medicare Part B covers one depression screening each year. You pay nothing for the screening when the provider accepts assignment and Medicare’s requirements apply.
Primary care can provide a starting point for discussing mood changes, sleep problems, stress, anxiety, or loss of interest.
Vaccines Medicare May Cover
Medicare Part B covers vaccines such as flu, pneumococcal, and hepatitis B for eligible patients and COVID-19 vaccines under current Medicare rules.
Medicare Part D covers ACIP-recommended adult vaccines that Part B does not cover, including shingles, RSV, and Tdap, without a copayment or deductible under current rules. Your clinician can review your vaccination history and recommend vaccines based on age and health risks.
Weight and Lifestyle Support
Medicare also covers certain services that address preventable health risks. These include obesity behavioral therapy for eligible patients, tobacco-use counseling, alcohol-misuse screening and counseling, and other preventive programs.
Starting July 1, 2026, Medicare also expanded access to certain GLP-1 weight-management medications for eligible Part D beneficiaries through a Medicare program. These medicines have separate eligibility and cost rules, so patients should verify coverage before treatment.
What About Medicare Advantage and Special Needs Plans?
Medicare Advantage plans must cover the medically necessary services that Original Medicare covers, and some plans offer additional benefits. However, networks, referrals, costs, and plan rules can differ.
People with certain chronic or disabling conditions may qualify for a Medicare Special Needs Plan, or SNP. These plans can tailor benefits, provider networks, care coordination, and covered medicines for specific groups, including some people with diabetes or chronic heart failure.
Review your individual plan before assuming that a clinic, test, or service is in-network.
Do Preventive Services Always Cost $0?
Not always. Medicare says you pay nothing for most preventive services when you meet the coverage requirements and use a provider who accepts assignment.
However, you may owe costs when a screening becomes diagnostic, when your clinician provides an additional service during the visit, or when Medicare does not cover a service at the requested frequency. For example, Medicare applies different cost rules to some screening and diagnostic services.
Always ask your provider and insurance plan about coverage when you have questions about costs.
Make Preventive Care Part of Your Health Plan
Medicare offers valuable preventive benefits, but your personal health history determines which services matter most. A strong prevention plan should consider your current conditions, medications, family history, age, and lifestyle.
At Passion Health Advanced Primary Care, our team supports Medicare patients with annual wellness visits, preventive care, diabetes care, heart health, geriatric care, weight management, physical exams, and ongoing primary care across North Texas.
Take a proactive approach to your health.
Schedule an evaluation at Passion Health Advanced Primary Care to discuss possible causes and receive personalized next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Medicare cover an annual physical?
Original Medicare does not cover a routine annual physical. Medicare Part B does cover eligible “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visits and yearly wellness visits.
Does Medicare cover preventive screenings?
Yes. Medicare Part B covers many eligible cancer, cardiovascular, diabetes, depression, and other preventive screenings.
Are Medicare preventive services free?
Many preventive services cost $0 when you meet Medicare requirements and use a provider who accepts assignment. Some diagnostic or additional services may involve costs.
Does Medicare cover vaccines?
Yes. Part B covers several vaccines, while Part D covers many other recommended adult vaccines.
