Your Preventive Services with Medicare

If you have Medicare, then you have access to a variety of preventive tests and screenings, most at no cost to you. If you’re new to Medicare, your “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit is now covered for free during your first 12 months of Part B coverage. This visit includes a review of your medical and social history related to your health and education and counseling about preventive services, including certain screenings, shots, and referrals for other care, if needed.

If you’ve had Part B for longer than 12 months, you can get a yearly wellness visit to develop or update a personalized prevention plan based on your current health and risk factors.  In addition to these important wellness visits, Medicare covers screening tests for diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease, just to name a few.

So as you tend to your garden this spring, make a commitment to tend to yourself too. Practice preventive care to ensure you stay healthy, live longer, and delay or prevent many diseases.

In most cases, colorectal cancer develops from precancerous polyps (abnormal growths) in the colon or rectum. Fortunately, screening tests can find these polyps, so you can get them removed before they turn into cancer. Screening tests also can find colorectal cancer early, when treatment works best.

It’s National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month – do what you can to reduce your risk for colorectal cancer. If you’re 50 or older, or have a personal or family history of colorectal issues, make sure you get screened for colorectal cancer regularly. Don’t worry about the cost—Medicare covers a variety of colorectal cancer screenings, and you pay nothing for most tests.

You might not be able to avoid Cupid’s arrow, but you can take steps to lower your risks and prevent heart disease.  Start by scheduling an appointment with your doctor to discuss whether you’re at risk for heart disease. 

Medicare will cover a cardiovascular screening at no cost to you every 5 years.  The screening includes tests to help detect heart disease early and measures cholesterol, blood fat (lipids), and triglyceride levels. 

If you and your doctor discover that you’re at risk for a heart attack or stroke, there are steps you can take to help prevent these conditions.  You might be able to make lifestyle changes (like changing your diet and increasing your activity level or exercising more often) to lower your cholesterol and stay healthy.

Luckily, you don’t have to face these challenges alone. The national Million Hearts campaign has pledged to help prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over the next 5 years. You can join them, and get information and resources you need to learn how to take care of your heart and live a healthy life.

February is American Heart Month, and a healthy heart is the best Valentine’s Day gift you could ever give yourself, or the people who love you. 

If you’re at high risk for developing diabetes, Medicare covers up to two fasting blood glucose (blood sugar) tests each year. If your doctor accepts assignment, you pay nothing for these tests. You may be at high risk for diabetes if you’re obese, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or a family history of diabetes. Talk to your doctor to find out when you should get your free screening test.

If you have diabetes, Medicare covers many of your supplies, including test strips, monitors, and control solutions. In some cases, Medicare also covers therapeutic shoes if you have diabetic foot problems. You pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for these supplies.

Medicare also covers diabetes self-management training to help you learn how to better manage your diabetes. You can learn how to monitor your blood sugar, control your diet, exercise, and manage your prescriptions. Talk to your doctor about how this training can help you stay healthy and avoid serious complications.

Take control of your health – talk to your doctor today about screening tests and what supplies and training you may need for your health.

Mammograms are breast cancer screening tests that can often detect a lump before you or your doctor can feel it. This can help detect breast cancer early, when it’s the most treatable. All women over 40 should have a screening mammogram every 12 months – and Medicare covers it at no cost if your doctor accepts assignment.

Talk to your doctor about risk factors, and to schedule your next screening. Take control of your health – better health is in your hands.

Get your flu shot early and stay healthy!  It’s free for people with Medicare, once per flu season in the fall or winter, when given by doctors or other health care providers (such as senior centers and pharmacies) that take Medicare.

Schedule your flu shot today!

• Flu Shots—Covered once a flu season in the fall or winter.
• Hepatitis B Shots—Covered for people at high or medium risk for Hepatitis B (usually a series of three shots).
• Pneumococcal Shot—Covered to help prevent pneumococcal infections (like certain types of pneumonia). Most people only need this shot once in their lifetime.

Getting your shots has never been easier. As we approach the fall season, you will see these shots offered in many places, such as your local pharmacy, so make sure you take advantage of them. As long as the supplier or doctor accepts assignment for giving the shot, you pay nothing.

If you have Medicare, you can get the following screenings:

-          Colorectal cancer screenings – four different screenings to detect colon and rectal cancers, each is covered as needed for all people age 50 and older

-          Prostate cancer screenings – covered for all men age 50 or older

-          Mammograms – screenings to detect breast cancer, covered for all women age 40 or older

-          Pap test and pelvic exams – screenings to detect cervical and vaginal cancers, covered for all women

-          Smoking cessation counseling – help quitting smoking, to help prevent lung, throat, and other cancers; covered for all people who use tobacco

Call your doctor’s office to set up your yearly preventive visit, where you can ask about any risk factors that may affect you, and schedule your preventive screenings. Your doctor can also help you keep track of when you should get screenings and which kinds are right for you.

By Donald M. Berwick, M.D., Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Cross posted from Healthcare.gov

Es.Medicare.gov is one of many ways we’re sharing Medicare information so everyone can better understand their health care options and get the best care. Now, Es.Medicare.gov also includes everything you need to know about preventive benefits, like recommended cancer screenings and discounts on brand-name drugs in the donut hole.

Here’s what you’ll find:

• ·         Details about exactly what Medicare covers and what you pay, including for preventive tests and screenings
• ·         Helpful Web sites and phone numbers for people who can answer your questions
• ·         “Medicare & You” handbook
• ·         Fact sheets and publications with specific details about the Medicare Program
• ·         Step-by-step information about how to file an appeal
• ·         Forms to apply for Medicare , file claims, and more

Visit Es.Medicare.gov, and tell your friends and family. Because when you share the news, you share the health.