What is Preventive Care?
Preventive care are the services that help you stay healthy, detect health problems early, and prevent certain diseases. This includes regular checkups, screenings, and immunizations to protect against illness and disease.
Selecting a Primary Care Doctor (also known as a Primary Care Provider or PCP) is the first step in getting regular preventive care. A Primary Care Doctor can listen to your health concerns, provide preventative services, and work with you to stay healthy. As you get to know your doctor, they will become a trusted partner in your health journey—someone who knows and understands your healthcare needs.
Plans cover many preventive care services, including:
- "Welcome to Medicare" initial visit, Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), and annual routine physical.
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening
- Alcohol misuse counseling
- Bone mass measurement
- Breast cancer screening (mammogram)
- Cardiovascular disease (behavioral therapy)
- Cardiovascular screenings
- Cervical and vaginal cancer screening
- Colorectal cancer screenings (colonoscopy, fecal occult blood test, flexible sigmoidoscopy)
- Depression screening
- Diabetes screenings
- HIV screening
- Medical nutrition therapy services
- Obesity screening and counseling
- Prostate cancer screenings (PSA)
- Sexually transmitted infections screening and counseling
- Tobacco use cessation counseling (counseling for people with no sign of tobacco-related disease)
- Vaccines, including flu shots, hepatitis B shots (covered for high-risk individuals who meet criteria), pneumococcal shots
These and other preventive services approved by Medicare during the contract year are included on your plan at low or no additional cost.
We use emails, letters, and sometimes a phone reminder system to let you know when it’s time to schedule preventive screenings for:
- Cervical cancer
- Breast cancer
- Colon cancer
You may also get a mailer explaining why these cancer screenings are important and to help you find care.