December 3, 2020
In 2021, Medicare Advantage (MA) patients may be calling to schedule either a Welcome to Medicare visit or an annual wellness visit. In 2021, Premera is incentivizing all MA members to complete either of these visits, or a comprehensive physical exam.
A Welcome to Medicare preventive visit is for members who are within their first 12 months of Medicare Part B coverage. They’re eligible for one visit within that period.
After the first 12 months, MA patients are eligible for one annual wellness visit, which they may also refer to as a yearly wellness visit.
During these preventive visits, you and your patients can develop personalized plans to help them improve and maintain their health. While these visits are preventive in nature, they’re also an effective way to review chronic and complex conditions, especially annual review and coding of conditions often missed in other visits during the year, such as:
- Status-post transplants
- Paraplegia
- Amputation
- Ostomies
- Ventilators
Review this preventive visit handout and guide for more information. Please schedule your patients’ visits accordingly and use the appropriate billing codes.
If you have any questions, send us an email.