Coverage
Medicare's free preventive care and yearly wellness visit, explained
Medicare pays in full for many screenings, shots and a yearly planning visit, as long as your provider accepts Medicare's approved amount. Many people never use them, and others get surprised by a bill. Here's what's included and how to keep it free.
Last reviewed October 27, 2026. General information, not advice about any plan.
The two wellness visits
- "Welcome to Medicare" visit
- Once, within your first 12 months of Part B. A review of your health history, risks and medicines, your height, weight, blood pressure and a simple vision test, and a written checklist of the screenings and shots you're due for.
- Yearly Wellness visit
- Once every 12 months after your first year of Part B. A health questionnaire, a check for memory problems, a review of your medicines, and an updated prevention plan. You don't need the Welcome visit first.
- What neither is
- A full physical exam. Book a separate appointment for a specific health problem.
Bring your medicine list, records of past shots, and your family health history.
Screenings
These cost nothing with a provider who accepts assignment, when you meet the conditions:
- Mammogram
- Once a year for women 40 and older (diagnostic mammograms cost 20%).
- Lung cancer (low-dose CT)
- Once a year, ages 50 to 77, with no symptoms, for current smokers or people who quit in the last 15 years with at least a 20 pack-year history. You need an order and a counseling visit before the first scan.
- Heart disease blood tests
- Cholesterol and related tests once every 5 years.
- Diabetes
- Up to twice a year if you have risk factors, such as high blood pressure or obesity.
- Bone density
- Once every 24 months if you're at risk for osteoporosis.
- Depression
- Once a year in a primary care setting.
- Cervical cancer
- A Pap test once every 24 months (yearly if at high risk).
- Prostate cancer
- A PSA blood test once a year for men over 50. The rectal exam costs 20%.
- Others
- Hepatitis B and C, HIV, abdominal aortic aneurysm, alcohol misuse, quitting tobacco, and obesity counseling, each with its own conditions.
Colorectal cancer screening
- Colonoscopy
- Once every 10 years, or every 2 years if you're at high risk. No minimum age.
- Stool or blood tests
- A FIT stool test once a year from age 45. A stool DNA test like Cologuard or a blood-based test once every 3 years, ages 45 to 85, at average risk.
- CT colonography
- Covered since 2025, once every 5 years from age 45.
- After a positive test
- The follow-up colonoscopy counts as screening, so it's free.
- If a polyp is removed
- You pay 15% coinsurance in 2026 (10% from 2027, nothing from 2030), but no deductible. In a hospital outpatient department or surgery center you also pay the facility 15% coinsurance.
Vaccines
- Part B, $0
- Flu (once a flu season), COVID-19 and pneumonia, and hepatitis B if you never finished the series, don't know, or are at medium or high risk.
- Part D, $0
- Shingles, RSV, Tdap and other vaccines recommended for adults, if you have a drug plan (or a Medicare Advantage plan with drug coverage). Plans can't charge a copay or apply the deductible; getting the shot at a network pharmacy is usually simplest.
How to avoid a surprise bill
- Use a provider who accepts assignment. Others can charge more.
- If the doctor checks a new problem or orders extra tests during a wellness visit or screening, those can cost the usual 20%. Ask before anything is added.
- A routine physical isn't covered by Original Medicare. If one is done, you may pay the full price.
Medicare Advantage plans must cover these preventive services at no cost in their network; out-of-network care may cost more. How plan networks work.
Common questions
Does Medicare cover a yearly physical?
No. Original Medicare covers a yearly Wellness visit, which is a conversation to plan your preventive care, not a head-to-toe physical exam. If a routine physical is done at the same visit, you may pay for it.
Is the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit free?
Yes, if your provider accepts assignment: no copay and no deductible. You may pay for other tests or care given at the same visit.
Is the shingles vaccine free with Medicare?
Yes, with Part D. Since 2023, drug plans can't charge a copay or deductible for vaccines recommended for adults, including shingles, RSV and Tdap. Flu, COVID-19, pneumonia and hepatitis B shots are covered by Part B at no cost.
Does a colonoscopy cost anything with Medicare?
A screening colonoscopy is free with a provider who accepts assignment. If a polyp is removed during it, you pay 15% coinsurance in 2026, dropping to 10% in 2027, with no deductible.
Keep reading
- What to bring to your first meeting with a Medicare agentA one-page checklist: the cards, doctor list and prescriptions an agent needs to compare plans for you, plus what you should never hand over.
- What Medicare costs in 2026, and what's already set for 2027The 2026 Part B premium and deductible, Part A hospital costs, the income-based IRMAA surcharges, Part D drug limits and Medicare Advantage's yearly cap, plus the 2027 figures already announced.
- Does Medicare cover dental, vision and hearing?Original Medicare doesn't cover routine dental care, glasses or hearing aids, with a few important exceptions. What is covered, what Medicare Advantage plans add, and your other options.
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