PCP visits are hard to get in my area. Medicare Wellness Visits mean that I am filling out forms for a provider who has been seeing me for years and knows my history. Instead of having an actual physical exam, I am told I have to come back for that in 6 months and have to have a separate annual wellness visit just to fill out forms. Medicare patients are older adults. This paperwork may be preventing an actual exam where a problem could be caught early. I suggest that Medicare cover actual physical examinations and stop requiring Medicare wellness visits.
1 Like
I work in medical billing, the fact that physicals are a non covered service for Medicare patients is a really sad situation. The patients have had physicals as a covered benefit when they have commercial insurance, but as soon as they get Medicare, that coverage stops. Why are physicals not important as a person ages? They should be more important to catch small issues before they become a huge health event.
1 Like