{"id":70844,"date":"2026-04-14T14:29:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T21:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?p=70844"},"modified":"2026-04-14T14:29:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T21:29:58","slug":"wellness-visit-is-free-with-medicare-part-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/wellness-visit-is-free-with-medicare-part-b\/","title":{"rendered":"Wellness Visit Is Free With Medicare Part B"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n\t<header class=\"header\">\n\t\t<span class=\"type\"><\/span>\t\t<h1>Wellness Visit Is Free With Medicare Part B<\/h1>\t\t<time>April 14, 2026<\/time>\n\t<\/header>\n\t<div id=\"block_a40f36afa555b8b18b53cafe5b630abc\" class=\"shs-block block-news-article entry-content\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"video-mobile\"><figure><div class=\"video-control-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/X5J4soGiki0\/0.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"><button class=\"video-modal-trigger iconfont-play1\" data-provider=\"youtube\" data-id=\"X5J4soGiki0\" data-title=\"Emily Balser, MD, explains Medicare Annual Wellness Visits.\"><span class=\"sr-only\">Play Video<\/span><\/button><\/div><figcaption>Emily Balser, MD, explains Medicare Annual Wellness Visits.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>If you are on Medicare medical insurance, Medicare Part B covers a yearly wellness visit. This visit is a proactive way to stay on top of your health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Focus on Staying Well<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While it is not a physical exam, the Medicare annual wellness visit is meant to be preventive. It is a one-on-one discussion with your provider about your health history, current prescriptions, measurements, screenings and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen we see our patients regularly, we have a much better pulse on their health,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/patients-visitors\/find-a-doctor\/balser-emily-1225073158\/\" data-type=\"provider\" data-id=\"9228\">Emily Balser, MD<\/a>, a Samaritan Health Services family medicine physician. \u201cI can\u2019t say enough how important it is to take time to discuss a patient\u2019s health outside of a medical crisis. It is a meaningful conversation that sets the stage for ongoing wellness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to the visit, you\u2019ll be asked to fill out a health risk assessment questionnaire. This helps you and your provider get the most out of your visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Review Your Health Status<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>During the visit, your provider will review your current health status with you, consider preventive services, perform a cognitive assessment, discuss advance care planning and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You pay nothing for the wellness visit. However, if additional tests or services are conducted&nbsp; (like a physical exam) outside the preventive intent of the visit, you may pay coinsurance and the Part B deductible. If additional cognitive assessments are recommended, Medicare covers a separate visit to do a more thorough review to check for conditions like dementia, depression, anxiety or delirium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are a <em>new<\/em> Medicare recipient, your first annual wellness visit will be one year after your first \u201cWelcome to Medicare\u201d preventive visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFor seniors who want to stay well to enjoy their independence, family, friends and hobbies, this visit is well worth their time,\u201d said Dr. Balser. \u201cIt offers peace of mind that you are doing your best to feel your best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More About Medicare Annual Wellness Visits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch this Medicare annual wellness visit <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/X5J4soGiki0\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/X5J4soGiki0\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video<\/a> or visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/health-services\/vaccines-prevention\/medicare-annual-wellness-visit\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"63197\">website<\/a> to learn more about this Medicare benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To schedule an in-person or virtual Medicare annual wellness visit, call&nbsp;<a href=\"tel:541-812-5177\"><strong>541-812-5177<\/strong><\/a>. You can also make an appointment request with your provider through <a href=\"https:\/\/mychart.samhealth.org\/MyChart\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/mychart.samhealth.org\/MyChart\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MyChart<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<aside>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"video-sidebar\"><figure><div class=\"video-control-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/X5J4soGiki0\/0.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"><button class=\"video-modal-trigger iconfont-play1\" data-provider=\"youtube\" data-id=\"X5J4soGiki0\" data-title=\"Emily Balser, MD, explains Medicare Annual Wellness Visits.\"><span class=\"sr-only\">Play Video<\/span><\/button><\/div><figcaption>Emily Balser, MD, explains Medicare Annual Wellness Visits.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\t\t\t<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/304-Medicare-Annual-Wellness-Visits-Digital-Campaign-WA-163237-1225-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta wp-post-image\" alt=\"Senior man who attended Medicare annual wellness visit dancing with granddaughter\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/304-Medicare-Annual-Wellness-Visits-Digital-Campaign-WA-163237-1225-CO.jpg 360w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/304-Medicare-Annual-Wellness-Visits-Digital-Campaign-WA-163237-1225-CO-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/304-Medicare-Annual-Wellness-Visits-Digital-Campaign-WA-163237-1225-CO-120x100.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure>\t\t<\/aside>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you are on Medicare medical insurance, Medicare Part B covers a yearly wellness visit. This visit is a proactive way to stay on top of your health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":65812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":false,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-topics":[290],"news-types":[272],"services":[238,245],"specialty":[9,18],"class_list":["post-70844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","news-topics-senior-health","news-types-news","services-family-medicine","services-internal-medicine","specialty-family-medicine","specialty-internal-medicine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70844"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70857,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70844\/revisions\/70857"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70844"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=70844"},{"taxonomy":"news-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-types?post=70844"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=70844"},{"taxonomy":"specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialty?post=70844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}