Medicare Annual Wellness Visit: Coverage and Costs
Medicare Part B covers a yearly "Wellness" visit once every 12 months, and you pay nothing for the visit itself as long as your provider accepts Medicare assignment. The Part B deductible does not apply to this visit. It is a planning conversation, not a hands-on physical exam: your provider reviews your health history, takes basic measurements like height, weight, and blood pressure, has you complete a Health Risk Assessment, and helps build a personalized prevention plan. You can be charged, however, if your doctor performs or orders additional services that fall outside the preventive benefit during the same appointment.
What the Annual Wellness Visit is (and what it includes)
The Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) is a preventive benefit covered by Medicare Part B once every 12 months. Its purpose is to create or update a personalized prevention plan, not to diagnose or treat illness on the spot.
A core part of the visit is the Health Risk Assessment (HRA), a questionnaire your provider asks you to complete. The answers help your provider build or update your prevention plan. Filling it out is how the visit gets its value, so it's worth completing thoughtfully.
Medicare also offers a one-time, separate 'Welcome to Medicare' preventive visit, which is its own benefit. The Annual Wellness Visit is the recurring yearly version you can get in later years.
- A Health Risk Assessment (HRA) questionnaire to develop or update your prevention plan
- Routine measurements such as height, weight, and blood pressure
- A review of your medical and family history and current providers and medications
- A schedule of recommended preventive screenings going forward
- A cognitive (memory) check; if a problem is detected, a separate cognitive assessment service may be furnished
How much it costs you
For the Annual Wellness Visit itself, you pay $0 — no copay and no coinsurance — as long as your provider accepts Medicare assignment. The Part B deductible ($283 in 2026) does not apply to this visit.
The visit is funded through Part B coverage, which carries a standard monthly premium of $202.90 in 2026. That premium is what you pay to have Part B at all; there is no additional charge for the wellness visit on top of it.
Be aware of when a charge can appear. If your doctor performs or orders services during the appointment that fall outside the preventive benefit — for example, addressing a new symptom, ordering certain diagnostic tests, or doing a routine physical exam — you may owe the standard 20% Part B coinsurance, and the $283 Part B deductible may apply to those add-on services. In some cases you could pay the full amount for services Medicare doesn't cover.
- Annual Wellness Visit itself: $0 if the provider accepts assignment
- Part B deductible ($283/yr in 2026): waived for the visit
- Add-on, non-preventive services: 20% coinsurance and the $283 deductible may apply
- 2026 Part B standard premium (pays for the benefit): $202.90/month
Why it's not a physical — and why you might get a bill
The Annual Wellness Visit is not a head-to-toe physical exam. Medicare does not cover a routine annual physical. The AWV is a planning visit focused on prevention, risk assessment, and recommended screenings.
This distinction is the most common reason people are surprised by a bill after a 'free' wellness visit. If your doctor treats a new or existing health problem during the same appointment, or performs a routine physical-style exam, those parts may be billed separately under your normal Part B cost-sharing.
If you want to keep the visit fully no-cost, it helps to ask your provider's office in advance how a new concern will be handled, and whether addressing it would turn into a separately billed service. You can also ask the front desk to explain any charge before you leave.
Eligibility and how often you can get it
You can get an Annual Wellness Visit once every 12 months. According to Medicare.gov, your first yearly 'Wellness' visit can't take place within 12 months of your Part B enrollment, and it can't take place within 12 months of a 'Welcome to Medicare' preventive visit if you had one.
You do not need to have had a 'Welcome to Medicare' visit to qualify for a yearly 'Wellness' visit. But if you did have one, you must wait until 12 months have passed since that visit before your first Annual Wellness Visit. The two visits cannot be billed within the same 12-month period.
The 'Welcome to Medicare' preventive visit is a one-time benefit available only within the first 12 months you have Part B. Like the AWV, you pay nothing for that visit if your provider accepts assignment, with cost-sharing applying only to additional non-covered tests or services.
- Frequency: once every 12 months
- Your first AWV can't be within 12 months of Part B enrollment
- Your first AWV can't be within 12 months of a 'Welcome to Medicare' visit (if you had one)
- A 'Welcome to Medicare' visit is not required to qualify for the AWV
- The visit is not required — it is a benefit you can choose to use
Lab work, cognitive checks, and Medicare Advantage
The Annual Wellness Visit does not automatically include blood work, an EKG, or lab tests. Those are ordered separately based on your situation and follow their own coverage and cost rules. Don't assume routine labs are part of the no-cost visit.
A cognitive assessment and care plan is a separately billable Medicare service. It's often performed when signs of cognitive impairment are detected during the wellness visit. Your provider may also add an optional Social Determinants of Health Risk Assessment to the visit, which can be furnished no more often than every six months.
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C) instead of Original Medicare, plans are required to cover the same preventive services as Original Medicare, including the Annual Wellness Visit. However, network rules, provider choice, and how extra services are handled vary by plan. Confirm the details in your plan's Evidence of Coverage and use an in-network provider.
How to prepare for your visit
A little preparation helps you get the most out of the appointment and avoid surprise charges.
- A current list of all medications, vitamins, and supplements you take
- Names and contact information for your other doctors and specialists
- Your family and personal medical history
- Any immunization or screening records you have
- A short list of preventive questions — and an understanding that new problems may be billed separately
Frequently asked questions
Is the Medicare wellness visit really free?
The Annual Wellness Visit itself costs you $0 if your provider accepts Medicare assignment, and the Part B deductible does not apply to it. You can still be charged, though, if additional services that aren't part of the preventive benefit are performed during the same appointment.
Why did I get a bill after my 'free' wellness visit?
Usually because the visit included something beyond the preventive benefit — such as treating a new symptom, performing a routine physical exam, or ordering certain diagnostic tests. Those add-on services can be billed under standard Part B cost-sharing: 20% coinsurance, and the $283 deductible may apply.
What is the difference between the Annual Wellness Visit and an annual physical?
The Annual Wellness Visit is a prevention-planning conversation that includes a Health Risk Assessment and basic measurements like height, weight, and blood pressure. It is not a hands-on physical exam, and Medicare does not cover a routine annual physical.
How often can I get a Medicare wellness visit?
Once every 12 months. Your first one also can't take place within 12 months of your Part B enrollment, or within 12 months of a 'Welcome to Medicare' visit if you had one.
Does Medicare Advantage cover the Annual Wellness Visit?
Yes. Medicare Advantage plans cover the same preventive services as Original Medicare, including the Annual Wellness Visit. Network and provider rules vary by plan, so check your Evidence of Coverage and use an in-network provider to keep the visit at no cost.
Does the wellness visit include blood work or lab tests?
Not automatically. Blood work, EKGs, and lab tests are ordered separately based on your needs and follow their own coverage and cost rules. They are not part of the no-cost wellness visit by default.
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Medicare Login Guide is an independent resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Medicare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or any government agency. This article is for general information only — confirm current figures and your specific options at medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.