Many Georgia beneficiaries skip the free Medicare Annual Wellness Visit because they expect a head-to-toe physical and get a planning conversation instead. Once a year it is genuinely $0, but the moment you raise a new symptom or ask the doctor to look at a nagging problem, the visit can quietly turn into a bill. This guide explains what the visit covers, when you qualify, and how to keep it free.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services
In This Guide
- Is the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit free?
- The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit vs. an annual physical
- What does the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit include?
- When can I get my first visit?
- How to keep your wellness visit free
- Getting your wellness visit in Georgia
- Where to get help in Georgia
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Learn More
Is the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit free?
Yes. Medicare Part B covers the Annual Wellness Visit at $0 when your provider accepts assignment, and the Part B deductible does not apply.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services Of all the Medicare preventive benefits, this is one of the most useful and one of the most underused, because the "free yearly visit" is easy to confuse with the yearly physical it is not.
There is one place the $0 can break. The cost-sharing waiver covers the wellness visit itself, not problem-focused care delivered in the same appointment. If a non-preventive test or service is performed during the visit, the usual cost-sharing applies to those added services: in 2026 that means the $283 annual Part B deductible and then 20% of the Medicare-approved amount.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services,Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026). 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. cms.gov. Retrieved Aug 7, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles So a beneficiary who books an "annual wellness visit" and then asks the doctor about a sore knee or a new medication problem can walk out owing money on a visit she was told was free.
The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit vs. an annual physical
This is the distinction that catches families. The Annual Wellness Visit is a preventive planning encounter, not a comprehensive physical exam, and the two are billed very differently.
| Annual Wellness Visit | A physical or problem-focused visit | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | A health questionnaire, basic measurements, and a written prevention plan | A hands-on exam, or a workup of a specific symptom or condition |
| How often | Once every 12 months | As often as medically needed |
| What you pay | $0; Part B deductible waived | After the $283 deductible, 20% of the Medicare-approved amount |
Medicare does not cover a routine "annual physical." When a visit addresses an existing condition or a new complaint, it is billed as a problem visit, and the standard Part B deductible and 20% coinsurance apply.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services,Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026). 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. cms.gov. Retrieved Aug 7, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles Many Georgia beneficiaries do have both kinds of care, just on separate footing: the wellness visit maps out prevention at $0, and ongoing condition management is handled in regular appointments that carry cost-sharing.
What does the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit include?
The visit is a conversation, not an examination table. A provider walks through your health, your habits, and your risks, and the two of you build a personalized prevention plan you take home. In a typical wellness visit you can expect:
- A health questionnaire about your habits, your mood, your memory, and your living situation.
- Basic measurements such as height, weight, and blood pressure.
- A short memory and thinking check, which can flag a concern early enough to act on.
- A mood screen for depression, which is often missed in older adults.
- A safety and function review of how you are managing daily activities, from bathing and dressing (activities of daily living) to managing medications and finances (instrumental activities of daily living).Administration for Community Living. (n.d.). Administration for Community Living (HHS/ACL) — Long-Term Care Glossary (ADLs). acl.gov. Retrieved Aug 3, 2026, from https://acl.gov/ltc/glossary
- A medication review of everything you take, including over-the-counter products and supplements.
- A written prevention plan: a schedule of the screenings and preventive services you are due for.
That prevention plan is the real product of the visit. It is where your other $0 preventive services get scheduled, including screening mammograms, screening colonoscopy, cervical cancer screening, and, for qualifying smokers, a yearly low-dose CT lung scan.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services The wellness visit is the appointment that decides which of those you actually need this year. A natural time to talk through advance care planning is during this visit too.
When can I get my first wellness visit?
Medicare offers two different wellness visits, and timing decides which one you get.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services
- In your first 12 months with Part B, the available benefit is the one-time "Welcome to Medicare" preventive visit (the Initial Preventive Physical Examination), also paid at $0 with the deductible waived.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services
- After you have had Part B for longer than 12 months, the yearly Annual Wellness Visit becomes available, once every 12 months.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services
Completing the one-time Welcome to Medicare visit does not use up your yearly Annual Wellness Visit; they are separate benefits, and neither one is a physical exam. It does, though, start a second clock: your first Annual Wellness Visit cannot take place within 12 months of your Welcome to Medicare visit either.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services So if you used the Welcome visit late in your first year with Part B, count 12 months forward from that date, not from your enrollment date. If you are past your first year of Part B and at least 12 months out from your Welcome visit, you are due for a wellness visit now.
How to keep your wellness visit free
The $0 holds as long as the visit stays preventive.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services A few practical steps protect it:
- Say it is a wellness visit when you book. Tell the office you want your yearly Annual Wellness Visit so it is scheduled and billed as one.
- Know what makes it a bill. If you raise a new symptom and the doctor evaluates it, that part can be billed as a separate problem visit with the $283 deductible and 20% coinsurance.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services,Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2026). 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles. cms.gov. Retrieved Aug 7, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2026-medicare-parts-b-premiums-deductibles That can be the right thing to do; just ask first so the cost is not a surprise.
- Watch the downstream screenings, too. The same logic recurs in the services your prevention plan schedules. A screening colonoscopy is $0, but if a polyp is found and removed it becomes diagnostic and you pay 15% of the Medicare-approved amount for the provider's services, plus a separate 15% facility coinsurance if it is done in a hospital outpatient department or an ambulatory surgical center (both step down to 10% for 2027 through 2029 and to $0 from 2030), with the deductible waived. The PSA blood test is $0, but the prostate digital rectal exam costs 20% after the deductible, and a diagnostic mammogram costs 20% rather than $0.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services
If you are a dual eligible enrolled in Georgia's Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) Medicare Savings Program, Medicaid pays your Medicare Part A and Part B deductibles, coinsurance, and copays, and federal law bars the provider from billing you for them even if Georgia does not fully reimburse the provider. An added service during the visit therefore leaves you owing nothing beyond a small Medicaid copayment where one applies.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Medicare Savings Programs. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 17, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/costs/help/medicare-savings-programs QMB is one of the Medicare Savings Programs Georgia Medicaid runs through the Division of Family and Children Services on Georgia Gateway.U.S. Social Security Administration. (2026). SSA - POMS: HI 00815.023 - Medicare Savings Programs Income and Resource Limits - 02/26/2026. secure.ssa.gov. Retrieved Jun 22, 2026, from https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0600815023
Getting your wellness visit in Georgia
Most primary care providers in Georgia furnish the Annual Wellness Visit, from large systems such as Emory Healthcare, Wellstar, Piedmont, and Northside, to community practices statewide. Georgia's federally qualified health centers also provide it, and the same $0 rule follows the visit wherever the provider accepts assignment.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Preventive and screening services. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-screening-services
For rural Georgia, access often runs through a Critical Access Hospital or a rural health clinic. A Critical Access Hospital is a small rural facility of no more than 25 inpatient beds that Medicare pays at 101% of its reasonable costs rather than at standard prospective rates. It normally has to sit more than a 35-mile drive on primary roads from any other hospital, or more than 15 miles where the terrain is mountainous or only secondary roads connect them, though a facility the state certified as a necessary provider before January 1, 2006 is grandfathered out of that mileage test.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2025). CMS Medicare Learning Network — Information for Critical Access Hospitals (MLN006400, December 2025). cms.gov. Retrieved Aug 7, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/files/document/mln006400-information-critical-access-hospitals.pdf Where in-person primary care is far away, a telehealth wellness visit can fill the gap, though measurements like blood pressure may need a home reading or a quick in-person step.
If you are in a Medicare Advantage plan rather than Original Medicare, the visit is still covered: Advantage plans must cover all medically necessary Part A and Part B services that Original Medicare covers, hospice care aside, and the Annual Wellness Visit is one of them.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Compare Original Medicare & Medicare Advantage - Medicare.gov. medicare.gov. Retrieved Aug 8, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/basics/get-started-with-medicare/get-more-coverage/your-coverage-options/compare-original-medicare-medicare-advantage Check your plan for in-network providers, since Advantage networks differ and plans may require prior authorization that Original Medicare does not.
Where to get help in Georgia
You do not have to sort this out alone. These Georgia and federal resources are free.
- GeorgiaCares SHIP (Georgia's State Health Insurance Assistance Program): free, unbiased Medicare counseling at 1-866-552-4464 (option 4), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.Administration for Community Living. (n.d.). Administration for Community Living — State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). acl.gov. Retrieved Jul 30, 2026, from https://acl.gov/programs/connecting-people-services/state-health-insurance-assistance-program-ship
- 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227, TTY 1-877-486-2048): questions about coverage and what you will owe.Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Contact Medicare — Medicare.gov. medicare.gov. Retrieved Jul 23, 2026, from https://www.medicare.gov/talk-to-someone
- Georgia Medicaid Member Services: 1-866-211-0950, for dual-eligible and Medicaid questions.gabar.org. (n.d.). State Bar of Georgia - Contact Us. Retrieved Aug 1, 2026, from https://www.gabar.org/about-the-bar/contact-us
- Eldercare Locator: 1-800-677-1116, to find local aging and care resources.eldercare.acl.gov https://eldercare.acl.gov/home · Accessed Aug 7, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit free?
Yes. The yearly Annual Wellness Visit is covered at $0 when your provider accepts assignment, and the Part B deductible is waived. It only stops being free if a non-preventive test or service is added during the visit, in which case the 2026 Part B deductible of $283 and 20% coinsurance apply to those added services.
Is the Annual Wellness Visit the same as an annual physical?
No. The Annual Wellness Visit is a preventive planning conversation that produces a written prevention plan. It is not a hands-on physical exam. Medicare does not cover a routine annual physical, and a visit that works up a symptom or condition is billed as a problem visit with the usual cost-sharing.
When can I get my first Annual Wellness Visit?
After you have had Medicare Part B for longer than 12 months. During your first 12 months with Part B, the available benefit is instead the one-time "Welcome to Medicare" preventive visit. Your first Annual Wellness Visit also cannot take place within 12 months of that Welcome to Medicare visit, so if you used it late in your first year, count 12 months forward from its date. After that, the Annual Wellness Visit is available once every 12 months.
What happens during the visit?
A provider reviews your health history, habits, mood, and memory, takes basic measurements, screens for depression and safety risks, reviews your medications, and builds a written prevention plan listing the screenings you are due for. You take that plan home.
What if I have both Medicare and Georgia Medicaid?
You get the Annual Wellness Visit through Medicare at $0. If you are enrolled in Georgia's QMB program, Medicaid pays your Medicare Part A and Part B deductibles, coinsurance, and copays, and federal law bars providers from billing you for them, so an added service during the visit leaves you owing nothing beyond a small Medicaid copayment where one applies. Call Georgia Medicaid Member Services at 1-866-211-0950 with questions.gabar.org. (n.d.). State Bar of Georgia - Contact Us. Retrieved Aug 1, 2026, from https://www.gabar.org/about-the-bar/contact-us
Does Medicare Advantage cover the Annual Wellness Visit?
Yes. Medicare Advantage plans must cover all medically necessary Part A and Part B services that Original Medicare covers, hospice care aside, and the Annual Wellness Visit is one of them. Check with your plan for in-network providers, because its networks and prior-authorization rules can differ from Original Medicare.
Learn More
Find personalized help understanding your Medicare Annual Wellness Visit in Georgia at brevy.com.
The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.