The Welcome to Medicare Visit is an optional appointment that assesses your risk for various conditions and lets you decide how you would like to go about your future.
When can I get it?
You can get a Welcome to Medicare visit within the first 12 months of getting Medicare Part B. After 12 months. You have the option to schedule annual appointments where you can make other choices in the preventive services to pursue. With this, you can formulate a healthcare strategy, and with yearly visits, you can check if any progressions in improved or declining health.
How can I get it?
Once you’ve decided to make your appointment at a doctor’s office, you can choose which doctor to get the assessment from. More importantly, it would be best to ensure that the doctor you’re making the appointment with accepts Medicare. If you have Medicare Advantage, then you can check to see if the doctor you want to see is in your plan’s network.
The next step in preparing is bringing important information with you. Crucial details like your family’s medical history, your medical history, and your medications will help guide the treatment strategy. Your past determines your future.
What does it involve?
This visit involves a questionnaire that assesses your physical and mental health. Then you can coordinate a plan for your future with a doctor or licensed healthcare professional. Your doctor will also check your height, weight, and blood pressure. Then your BMI will be calculated to see if you are at a healthy weight.
Your doctor will decide if you need any preventive procedures in the future. You may also get referrals for treatment. While this consultation is free, the future preventive services your doctor orders will require a Part B coinsurance payment and a deductible payment. Preventive services include flu shots, cancer screenings, and dietary counseling. There’s a wide range of options, but a healthcare professional will be able to pinpoint the exact services you require.
As for mental health, you will get tested to check your cognitive skills, which will help detect early signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s. You will also be examined for depression.
From there, you and your doctor create a strategy for the future. One includes advance directives – the treatment decisions you make ahead of time if you are severely cognitively impaired and unable to communicate.
Any questions?
If you don’t have Medicare Part B already, we can provide a Part B policy for you to get a jumpstart on your future. Part B has a whole host of benefits in its own right, beyond the Welcome to Medicare Visit. We’ll help you every step of the way. At Senior Insurance Consultants, we know Medicare to the greatest extent, and we can answer any question you have when you call us at 620-664-2985.
