Prepare for this Winter Season with a Wellness Check-Up!

Winter is just around the corner, which means that sick season isn’t far behind. As flu, colds, RSV and COVID pick up again, one of your best lines of defense is a clean bill of health. There’s no better way to ensure that you’re prepared for winter than with a wellness check-up.

If you have Medicare, your benefits include an annual wellness exam with your doctor. The purpose of a wellness exam is to measure your current health and ensure that you remain healthy by taking a proactive approach to any concerns that pop up. Unlike a regular visit to your physician, a wellness exam is not meant to address an existing problem. Instead, the goal is prevention of future health problems with a plan that is tailored to your current health.

A wellness checkup will include the following:

• A review of your health history and your family’s health history. This is the time to share any updates or changes with your doctor.
• A discussion of your lifestyle including eating, drinking, smoking and exercise habits.
• A review of current medications.
• A measurement of height, weight and blood pressure. These numbers can be used to identify patterns or changes that indicate a health problem.
• A cognitive ability screening to screen for early signs of dementia.

Based on the results of the wellness checkup, your doctor will provide personalized health advice. This advice will be tailored to both your current health and risk factors, with the ultimate goal of keeping you healthy. Your doctor may give you a checklist for screenings based on your age or current health, as well as recommendations for further testing or preventative services. Finally, your doctor can also discuss advance care planning, should you need medical care with an advanced directive in place.

The best part of a Medicare wellness checkup? It’s free! As part of your Medicare Part B benefits, you may receive a yearly wellness checkup with a participating provider at no out of pocket cost to you. So what are you waiting for? Get a leg up on winter with a preventative plan as part of your Medicare benefits.