Understood Care
Preventive care is everything you do to stay healthy and to catch problems early. It includes routine checkups, vaccines, and screening tests that look for conditions before symptoms appear. These services lower the chance of serious illness and help you and your clinician make a plan that fits your risks and goals.
During your first year on Part B you can get a one time visit that reviews your health history, screens for risks, and sets up needed preventive services. Many people call this the Welcome to Medicare visit. If your clinician accepts assignment you usually pay nothing.
After your first year on Part B you can have a yearly wellness visit. It is not a head to toe physical. It is a structured check in where you and your clinician update your health history, review medications, screen for depression and safety risks, and build a personalized prevention plan with the screening schedule and vaccines you need. Your first wellness visit cannot be within twelve months of your Part B start or your Welcome to Medicare visit.
Tip Bring a list of your medicines and supplements, your home blood pressure readings if you track them, questions you want answered, and the name of a trusted contact for your care plan.
Screening recommendations vary by age, sex, and personal risk. A good rule is to follow grade A and B services from the United States Preventive Services Task Force and to tailor based on your history and preferences. Talk with your clinician about what fits you best.
Breast cancer
Most women benefit from mammograms every other year from ages forty to seventy four. Decisions after seventy five depend on overall health and preferences.
Colorectal cancer
Adults should start screening at age forty five and continue through age seventy five using stool tests or visual tests such as colonoscopy. Between seventy six and eighty five the decision is individualized based on prior results and health status.
Prostate cancer
For many men ages fifty five to sixty nine the decision to have a prostate specific antigen blood test is a personal one after a discussion of benefits and harms. Routine screening is not recommended at age seventy and older.
Lung health
If you are fifty to eighty, have at least a twenty pack year smoking history, and currently smoke or quit within the past fifteen years, yearly low dose CT can reduce the risk of dying from lung cancer. A regular chest X ray is not recommended for lung cancer screening.
Osteoporosis
Women sixty five and older should have a bone density scan. Younger postmenopausal women with risk factors may also need testing. Results guide nutrition, exercise, and medicines that prevent fractures.
Blood pressure
All adults should have their blood pressure checked. Many people forty and older benefit from yearly checks, and home or ambulatory readings are used to confirm a diagnosis.
Blood sugar
Adults thirty five to seventy who have overweight or obesity should be screened for pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. If you have pre-diabetes your clinician can refer you to proven preventive programs.
Cholesterol and statins
Adults forty to seventy five with one or more cardiovascular risk factors may benefit from a statin for prevention based on their calculated ten year risk. Decide with your clinician after reviewing your numbers and preferences.
Staying up to date on vaccines prevents illness and hospital stays. Your clinician will tailor the schedule to your age and health conditions, using the current adult immunization schedule.
What many adults need
Falls are common and can be serious for older adults. Screening for fall risk, medication review, vision checks, home safety, and balance and strength exercises lower the chance of injury.
Everyday steps to lower risk
If mobility equipment would help you stay independent, see Understood Care’s page on Mobility Equipment Support at https://understoodcare.com/care-types/mobility-equipment. If rides are the barrier, our Transportation Help page is here: https://understoodcare.com/care-types/transportation-help
Amanda from Understood Care said it best in her video. Preventive care works when someone helps you connect the dots.
Here is what our advocates can do for you
If transportation, mobility, or preparation is stressing you, an advocate can make those calls and get you scheduled so you stay safe and healthy, just like Amanda described
Medicare Part B covers a wide range of preventive services such as the Welcome to Medicare visit, the yearly wellness visit, many vaccines, and screenings like colorectal cancer tests. Your costs can change if additional diagnostic testing is done during the same visit, so ask what will be billed as preventive versus diagnostic. To see examples of covered services, review the Medicare preventive and screening services list.
Mammogram
Colonoscopy
Bone density scan
Lung cancer low dose CT
Prostate screening
The Welcome visit is a one time preventive visit during your first year on Part B. The yearly wellness visit happens every year after that. Both visits focus on risk review, screening plans, vaccines, and referrals. They are not a full head to toe physical exam.
Most people in this age group discuss colorectal cancer screening, bone density testing for women, blood pressure, blood sugar, and vaccines including flu, COVID, shingles, and pneumococcal. Your clinician may also review depression screening, tobacco cessation support, and fall risk. The exact plan depends on your history and preferences.
For eligible adults, the recommended test is a yearly low dose CT. Routine chest X rays are not recommended for lung cancer screening.
Yes. Understood Care advocates can contact your ordering clinician, confirm the facility received the order, obtain needed authorizations, do a three way call, and schedule the earliest available appointment. See our transportation help page if a ride is the main barrier at https://understoodcare.com/care-types/transportation-help
Many preventive services are covered with no out of pocket cost when your clinician accepts assignment and when the service is billed as preventive. If a test becomes diagnostic or if additional procedures are done, you may have costs. Ask the office how your visit will be billed and review Medicare’s preventive services list.
Ask an Understood Care advocate to coordinate the order, authorizations, and scheduling. We can also book paratransit or rides and share tips for getting to and from the appointment safely. Explore https://understoodcare.com/care-types/mobility-equipment and https://understoodcare.com/care-types/transportation-help
If your clinician ordered a mammogram, bone density scan, colonoscopy, prostate screening, or a low dose CT and you are not hearing back, we can make the calls for you. We verify orders, secure authorizations, and get you on the schedule. We can also do a conference call with you so you hear everything in real time and can give consent or ask questions on the spot. If you want help now, visit our Transportation Help or Mobility Equipment pages above to get started
This content is educational and is not a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider for personalized care.
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