Medicare Annual Wellness Visit vs. Annual Physical — Plus the Welcome-to-Medicare Visit

Reviewed by the Evolve Health clinical team · 2026-10-16 · 8 min read

This is the most common misunderstanding we hear from our Medicare patients, and it usually sounds like one of these: "I came in for my free yearly physical — why did nobody examine me?" Or, from an adult child helping a parent: "I booked Mom's wellness visit, but what she really needs is blood work and someone to listen to her heart." Both families booked a real Medicare benefit — just a different visit than the one they pictured. Medicare's names are the problem: "Annual Wellness Visit" sounds like a physical, and the "Welcome to Medicare" visit is even officially called an Initial Preventive Physical Examination — yet neither is the classic head-to-toe physical. This guide lays the three visits side by side so you can book the one you actually want.

The three visits, side by side

What the Annual Wellness Visit actually is

Think of the Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) as an annual planning session for your health rather than a repair appointment. You complete a health risk assessment — questions about your health, habits, pain, and daily functioning. Your clinician reviews your medical and family history, reconciles your list of current doctors and medications, takes basics like height, weight, and blood pressure, and screens for cognitive changes — memory and thinking — as well as depression risk. The product of the visit is a personalized prevention plan: a written schedule of screenings due over the next 5 to 10 years. That plan is how diabetes, cardiovascular, and cancer screenings get onto the calendar instead of being forgotten. What the visit is not: nobody is listening to your lungs or palpating your abdomen, and there is no routine blood draw. If a lab or service is needed, it is ordered and billed as its own service, separate from the wellness visit.

The Welcome to Medicare visit: one time only

If you enrolled in Part B within the last 12 months, you have a one-time benefit with an expiration date: the Welcome to Medicare visit (officially the Initial Preventive Physical Examination, or IPPE). It covers a review of your medical and family history, measurements including height, weight, body mass index, and blood pressure, a simple vision check, a conversation about risk factors and home safety, and a written screening checklist. Despite the word "physical" in its official name, its scope is the same preventive-planning family as the wellness visit — a baseline and a roadmap, not a full head-to-toe exam with labs. Remember: it is available only during your first 12 months of Part B, and once that window closes it does not come back — after that, the Annual Wellness Visit takes over. New to Medicare? Book it while you still can.

And the annual physical? Medicare doesn't cover it as such

Here is the part that surprises people: a traditional annual physical — a head-to-toe examination done simply because a year has passed — is not a covered Medicare benefit. Medicare pays for prevention through the two visits above and for care when there is a symptom to evaluate; it does not pay for a routine physical on its own. That is why the confusion costs people: a patient waiting for a "free Medicare physical" that never comes may never get the exam or blood work they were counting on. The good news is the fix is simple, and plenty of our Medicare patients use it:

• Use the wellness visit for what it does well: $0 when eligibility rules are met, a current screening schedule, and a prevention plan that stays up to date.
• Add a hands-on physical when you want one. At Evolve Health, our self-pay annual physical is $150 with a full lab panel — CBC, cholesterol, blood sugar, thyroid, liver, kidney, and urine testing — the exam-and-labs visit you pictured, at one clear price. Our breakdown of when a physical is really $0 explains how preventive and diagnostic billing differ.
• Check your specific plan if you have Medicare Advantage. Some Advantage plans include a physical exam benefit on top of the wellness visit. Coverage varies by plan, so we verify yours individually before your visit.

Which visit should you book? A quick guide

• New to Medicare this year? Book the Welcome to Medicare visit before your first 12 months of Part B run out — it is one-time only.
• Had Part B for over a year? Book the Annual Wellness Visit — your yearly, $0 planning visit with screening schedule and cognitive screening.
• Want an exam and blood work? Book an annual physical. We verify any coverage first; our self-pay option is $150 with the full lab panel.
• Helping a parent? Ask them one question: "Do you want the planning visit Medicare covers, or the exam with labs?" Then call us with their Medicare card handy — families sort this out in one phone call.

One related trap worth knowing: a wellness visit and a problem visit are different services. If a symptom or condition needs evaluation — a new pain, a medication problem, an abnormal result — that evaluation is regular medical care, handled as its own service even on the same day. When you book with us, we verify your coverage first and tell you before your visit what to expect, so there are no surprises about which visit you are having. And if you are still deciding between Medicare plans for next year, our Medicare open enrollment guide walks through the checks to run before the December 7 deadline.

How Evolve Health handles Medicare visits

Evolve Health accepts Medicare Part B, and we are glad to help you land on the right visit. Before your appointment, we verify your coverage free — from your Medicare card, a photo ID, and your date of birth — and confirm which visits you are eligible for and what each will cost you. To be straightforward about our role: we are a clinic, not insurance agents. We do not enroll anyone in a plan and we do not recommend one plan over another — but we can confirm exactly how your coverage works at our clinic, and that confirmation is usually the missing piece. Find us at 2442 Lillian Miller Pkwy, Suite 115, in Denton, open Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. We speak English, Nepali & Hindi.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit the same as an annual physical?

No — they are two different visits. The Annual Wellness Visit is a Medicare Part B planning visit: you complete a health risk assessment, your clinician screens for memory and thinking changes, and together you build a personalized prevention plan with a schedule of screenings for the years ahead. It is not a head-to-toe physical exam, and it does not routinely include a lab draw. An annual physical is the hands-on exam — listening to your heart and lungs, checking your body systems, and usually ordering labs. Medicare does not cover a routine annual physical as such — which is why the two get confused.

What actually happens at an Annual Wellness Visit?

You fill out a health risk assessment about your health, habits, and daily functioning. Your clinician reviews your medical and family history, checks your list of current doctors and medications, measures basics like height, weight, and blood pressure, and screens for cognitive changes and depression risk. You leave with a personalized prevention plan and a written schedule of screenings due over the next 5 to 10 years. There is no head-to-toe exam, and blood work is not part of the visit unless your clinician orders a specific test separately.

What is the Welcome to Medicare visit, and when do I get it?

The Welcome to Medicare visit — officially the Initial Preventive Physical Examination — is a one-time visit you can have during your first 12 months of Medicare Part B coverage. Your clinician reviews your medical and family history, takes key measurements including height, weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and a simple vision check, talks through your risk factors and safety at home, and gives you a written checklist of upcoming screenings and preventive services. It is a starting-point planning visit, not a full physical exam. Once your first 12 months of Part B have passed, this visit is no longer available — your yearly planning visit after that is the Annual Wellness Visit.

Does Medicare cover a regular annual physical with labs?

Not as a routine benefit. Medicare covers the Annual Wellness Visit for planning and prevention, but a traditional head-to-toe annual physical — done simply because it is that time of year, not because of a specific symptom — is not a covered Medicare service. Plenty of our patients choose both: the covered wellness visit, plus a hands-on physical. At Evolve Health, our self-pay annual physical is $150 and includes a full lab panel — CBC, cholesterol, blood sugar, thyroid, liver, kidney, and urine testing. Some Medicare Advantage plans also include a physical exam benefit; we can verify your specific plan free before your visit.

How much does the Annual Wellness Visit cost?

When the eligibility rules are met, the Annual Wellness Visit costs you $0 — Medicare Part B covers it once every 12 months, and you pay nothing when your provider accepts assignment. The main rules: you have had Part B for more than 12 months, and no Welcome to Medicare visit or Annual Wellness Visit in the past 12 months. If a specific health problem needs its own evaluation during the visit, that part is a regular medical service, not part of the wellness visit. When you book with us, we verify your coverage from your Medicare card, photo ID, and date of birth first, so you know exactly what to expect before you come in.

How do I book the right Medicare visit at Evolve Health?

Call us at (940) 257-2002 and tell us what you are after — a wellness visit, your one-time Welcome to Medicare visit, a hands-on physical, or help deciding. Evolve Health accepts Medicare Part B, and before your appointment we verify your coverage free from your Medicare card, photo ID, and date of birth, and confirm which visit fits your eligibility and your goals. If you are helping a parent with Medicare, you are welcome to call with them — most families find the three visit types simpler once they are laid out side by side.

Sources

• Medicare.gov — Yearly "Wellness" visits (what the Annual Wellness Visit includes, the 12-month rules, and that it is not a head-to-toe physical exam)
• Medicare.gov — Welcome to Medicare visit (the one-time Initial Preventive Physical Examination within the first 12 months of Part B)
• Medicare.gov — Getting started with Medicare (Part B preventive services and how coverage works)

General education only — not insurance advice: This article explains how Medicare's preventive visits generally work. Your own eligibility and coverage are confirmed from your Medicare card before your visit, and Medicare.gov or your local SHIP program (in Texas, the Health Information Counseling and Advocacy Program) can give personal guidance on Medicare choices.