A look at Medicare preventive and screening services in 2023
With the sky-rocketing expenses for health care, it is good to know that there were some new benefits added to Medicare. Medicare covers also counseling and screening for depression, alcohol abuse, cardiovascular disease or obesity.
The preventive and screening services that are covered by Part B include for 2023*:
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm screening
- Acupuncture
- Advance care planning
- Alcohol misuse screenings & counseling
- Ambulance services
- Ambulatory surgical centers
- Bariatric surgery
- Behavioral health integration services
- Blood
- Bone mass measurements (bone density)
- Cardiac rehabilitation
- Cardiovascular behavioral therapy
- Cervical & vaginal cancer screening
- Chemotherapy
- Chiropractic services
- Chronic care management services
- Clinical research studies
- NEW in 2022: Cognitive assessment & care plan services
- Colorectal cancer screenings, NEW in 2022: Blood-based biomarker test
- Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices, accessories, & therapy
- Counseling to prevent tobacco use & tobacco-caused disease
- NEW in 2022: COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostic and antibody-tests, Monoclonal antibody treatments
- Defibrillators
- Depression screenings
- Diabetes screenings
- Diabetes self-management training
- Diabetes equipment, supplies, & therapeutic shoes
- Doctor & other health care provider services
- Drugs (Part B covers a limited number of outpatient prescription drugs)
- Durable medical equipment (DME)
- EKG or ECG (electrocardiogram) screenings
- Emergency department services
- E-visits
- Eyeglasses (limited)
- Federally Qualified Health Center services
- Flu shots
- Foot care
- Glaucoma tests
- Hearing & balance exams
- Hepatitis B shots
- Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection screening
- Hepatitis C screening test
- HIV screening
- Home health services (limited)
- Home infusion therapy services
- Kidney dialysis services & supplies
- Kidney disease education
- Laboratory services (limited)
- Lung cancer screening
- Mammograms (screening)
- Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program
- Mental health care (outpatient)
- Nutrition therapy services
- Obesity screenings & counseling
- Occupational therapy
- Opioid use disorder treatment services
- Outpatient hospital services (limited)
- Outpatient medical & surgical services & supplies
- Physical therapy
- Pneumococcal shots
- Prostate cancer screenings
- Prosthetic/orthotic items
- Pulmonary rehabilitation programs
- Rural health clinic services (limited)
- Second surgical opinions
- Sexually transmitted infections screening & counseling
- Shots/vaccines and other recommended adult immunizations, e.g.
• Flu shots
• Hepatitis B shots
• Pneumococcal shots
• Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine - Speech-language pathology services
- Surgical dressing services
- Telehealth (limited)
- Tests, e.g. X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, EKG/ECGs, and some other diagnostic tests
- Transitional care management services
- Transplants & immunosuppressive drugs
- Urgently needed care
- Virtual check-ins
- “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit
- Yearly “Wellness” visit
* Some of the above services are limited and may not apply to you. Check https://www.medicare.gov/Pubs/pdf/10050-medicare-and-you.pdf for the complete and current list of included services.
To take advantage of these screening services, you will have to be enrolled in Medicare Part B.
Mark your calendar: The Medicare Open Enrollment period this year is from October 15 to December 7. This is the time when you may make changes to your current Medicare insurance such as enrolling in a Medicare advantage plan or a Medigap plan. Only when you are currently enrolled in a 5 Star rated Medicare advantage plan you are allowed to switch any time of the year.
To get the most up-to-date information about the changes to Medicare for 2023, visit medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE.
