The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is a yearly planning appointment, not a head-to-toe physical. You and your doctor review your health history, medicines, risks and memory, then agree on a personal prevention plan and screening schedule. If your provider accepts assignment, the visit itself costs you $0 once every 12 months.
Key takeaways
- You can get an Annual Wellness Visit once every 12 months after you have had Part B for more than 12 months.
- The visit is $0 when your provider accepts assignment, but it is a planning visit, not a physical exam.
- It includes a health risk questionnaire, a medicine review, basic measurements, a memory check and a written prevention plan.
- In your first 12 months of Part B, the equivalent is the one-time "Welcome to Medicare" preventive visit.
- Bringing a full medicine list and a short list of questions makes the appointment far more useful.
What the Annual Wellness Visit is (and what it is not)
Many people are surprised that the Annual Wellness Visit feels more like a conversation than an exam. That is by design. The goal is to look at the bigger picture of your health and build a plan to stay well, rather than to examine you from head to toe or treat a new problem.
Think of it as a yearly review meeting. Your doctor, nurse practitioner or another qualified provider gathers information about you, checks a few simple measurements, and works with you on a schedule for the screenings and vaccines that make sense for your age and risks.
Because it is not a physical exam, your provider will not usually listen to your heart and lungs, examine your body in detail or order routine lab work as part of the wellness visit itself. If you want or need those things, ask about them separately.
Who qualifies
You qualify for the Annual Wellness Visit once you have had Medicare Part B for more than 12 months, and you can have one every 12 months after that. If you are still within your first 12 months of Part B, you are eligible for the "Welcome to Medicare" preventive visit instead, which can be used once during that first year.
What happens during the visit
Every practice runs the appointment a little differently, but Medicare describes a standard set of parts. The table below lists them and what each one means in practice.
| Part of the visit | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Health risk assessment | A questionnaire, often filled in before or at the start of the visit, about your health, daily activities, mood and habits. |
| Medical and family history | A review of your past illnesses, surgeries and conditions that run in your family. |
| Current medicines | A review of everything you take, including any opioid prescriptions, vitamins and supplements. |
| Measurements | Height, weight and blood pressure, plus other routine measurements as needed. |
| Cognitive check | A short check for signs of memory or thinking problems. |
| Depression screening review | A look at your mood and any signs of depression. |
| Personalized prevention plan | A written plan and screening schedule, usually covering the next several years. |
| Advance care planning (optional) | If you wish, a discussion of your wishes for future medical care. |
Before your appointment, use our free checker to see which preventive screenings Medicare may cover for your age and situation.
See which screenings Medicare covers for youThe memory check
The cognitive check is a routine part of the visit for everyone, so being asked about memory does not mean anyone suspects a problem. It gives your doctor a starting point to compare against in future years. If you or a family member have noticed changes, this is a good moment to mention them. Our guide on memory loss versus signs of dementia explains which changes are worth raising.
The prevention plan
The most valuable thing you leave with is your personalized prevention plan. It should list the screenings and vaccines that are recommended for you and roughly when they are due. Many of these, such as mammograms, colorectal cancer screening and diabetes screening, are covered separately under Part B. Our guide to Medicare preventive screenings explains how often each one is covered and what it costs.
What it costs
The Annual Wellness Visit is $0 for you when your provider accepts assignment, which means they agree to accept the Medicare-approved amount as full payment.
The part that sometimes causes confusion is what happens if other care takes place during the same appointment. If your provider examines or treats a separate health problem, adjusts treatment for an existing condition, or orders tests that are not part of the wellness visit, that extra care may be billed separately, and your usual Part B costs may apply. For context, the 2026 Part B deductible is $283.
A simple way to avoid surprises is to ask, when you book and again at the start of the visit, "Is everything today part of my Annual Wellness Visit, or will any of it be billed separately?"
How to prepare: a simple checklist
A little preparation turns a routine appointment into a genuinely useful one. Here is what to gather in the week before.
- A complete medicine list. Write down every prescription, over-the-counter medicine, vitamin and supplement, with the dose and when you take it. Some people simply bring all their bottles in a bag. Our medication schedule planner can help you build a clear, printable list.
- Your health history. Note any hospital stays, surgeries or new diagnoses since your last visit, and any health conditions in your parents, brothers or sisters.
- Recent screening dates. If you remember when you last had a mammogram, colonoscopy, bone density test or eye exam, write it down.
- Your own questions. Write down the two or three things that matter most to you, so they do not get lost in the conversation.
- Advance directive papers. If you have a living will or health care power of attorney, bring a copy.
Questions worth asking
- Which screenings and vaccines are due for me this year?
- Is my blood pressure where you would like it to be?
- Could any of my medicines be causing tiredness, dizziness or unsteadiness?
- Am I at higher risk of falling, and what can I do about it?
A worked example of a wellness visit plan
To show how the pieces fit together, here is how a provider might turn the information gathered during a visit into a plan. This is an illustration of the process, not a recommendation for any individual.
Suppose a 72-year-old woman has had Part B for several years. Her health questionnaire shows she sometimes feels unsteady on the stairs, she takes six prescription medicines and two supplements, and her blood pressure reading at the visit is 138/84, which falls in the Stage 1 range on the current guideline chart.
Her prevention plan might include:
- Checking her home blood pressure readings over the next few weeks to confirm the office reading, then reviewing them together.
- A talk about fall risk, including a review of whether any medicines might add to unsteadiness.
- A note that her yearly mammogram and her flu shot are due.
- A reminder to ask her pharmacist for a once-a-year review of all her medicines.
Nothing in this plan involves her changing a medicine on her own. Each step either gathers more information or schedules a covered service, which is exactly what the wellness visit is meant to do. If you track your own readings, our blood pressure checker shows which category a reading falls into, and our fall risk checker walks through the CDC's simple self-check questions.
Making the most of the visit as a caregiver
If you help a parent or partner with their health, consider going along to the appointment, with their permission. A second person can help answer history questions, remember what the doctor said, and speak up about changes in memory, mood or mobility that the patient might not notice or might not mention.
Ask for a printed copy of the prevention plan before you leave, so you can schedule the screenings it recommends. For more help with medicines at home, see our guide to managing multiple medications safely.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Annual Wellness Visit the same as a physical?
No. It is a planning visit that includes a health questionnaire, a medicine review, basic measurements such as height, weight and blood pressure, a memory check and a written prevention plan. Original Medicare does not cover a routine yearly physical exam.
How often can I have an Annual Wellness Visit?
Once every 12 months, after you have had Part B for more than 12 months. During your first 12 months of Part B, you can have the one-time "Welcome to Medicare" preventive visit instead.
Will I pay anything for the visit?
The wellness visit itself is $0 if your provider accepts assignment. If other tests or treatment for a separate problem happen during the same appointment, those may be billed separately, so it is worth asking at the start.
Do I have to do the memory check?
A cognitive check is a standard part of the visit. It is routine for everyone and gives your doctor a baseline to compare with in future years. If you have concerns about it, talk them through with your provider.
What should I bring?
Bring a complete list of your medicines, vitamins and supplements with doses, your recent health history, any recent screening dates, copies of advance directive papers if you have them, and your own questions.
Sources
This guide is general health information for education. It is not medical advice and does not replace a visit with your doctor or pharmacist. Never start, stop or change a medicine without talking to them. In an emergency call 911. Spotted an error? Let us know.