This June is the first-ever National Prevention and Wellness Month. That makes it a great time to review Medicare’s preventive health benefits, especially with their reduced costs due to health care reform’s Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Medicare Covered Preventive Services Report
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released this report showing that over 5 million Americans with Original fee-for-service Medicare have taken advantage of one or more of the recommended preventive benefits that are available for free thanks to the ACA.
Medicare also recently launched a nationwide public outreach campaign, including a letter to doctors and a new Public Service Announcement to raise awareness about preventive benefits now covered at no charge to patients, including the new Annual Wellness Visit benefit.
A Review of Medicare’s Preventive Benefits
See what Medicare covers when it comes to prevention and wellness as listed on Medicare.gov. Medicare also has a convenient checklist for beneficiaries to bring to their doctors to discuss which preventive services are best for them.
For more information on covered preventive services and the cost changes due to health care reform, see our article, “Top 7 Medicare Changes in 2011.”
