Preventive Care and Wellness Services: Coverage and Costs
Summary
Preventive services, such as vaccines and screenings, can help you avoid certain diseases and catch others in their early stages, to limit the harm they can cause. Wellness services, such as weight management and stress reduction, can help you adopt a healthy lifestyle.To find out what preventive and wellness services are recommended for you or your family, talk to your doctor and see MyHealthfinder.
Federal law requires most health insurance plans to provide certain preventive services at no cost to you. The services are categorized as being for all adults, women or children. For full details, including guidelines about life stages when you should receive the services, see HealthCare.gov’s information here. When using these services, remember these points:
- Get the service from a doctor or other provider in your health plan’s network.
- Related services (such as a biopsy performed as a result of a screening test) may not be free.
- Some older plans may be exempt from the law.
- The law doesn’t require health plans to cover every kind of preventive service for free, just the specified ones.
Many employers offer workplace wellness initiatives, such as dietary counseling and on-site exercise programs. Some employers may offer financial incentives or other rewards to employees who take part in wellness programs. Ask your employer if such a program is offered at your workplace.
Your health plan may offer more preventive services for free than just the minimum required by law. Check with your insurer or doctor to see which other services may be covered for free.
Your Action Plan: Prevention and Wellness
Here are the key points to remember in your prevention and wellness efforts:
- Know what preventive and wellness services are recommended for you or your family members, based on age and other risk factors. Talk to your doctor and see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prevention Checklist.
- Know what preventive services the law requires most health plans to cover for free. Check here for full details.
- Consider taking part in a workplace wellness program, if one is offered at your workplace.
- Free preventive and wellness services will help you only if you take advantage of them. Make a point of doing so.