Medicare's Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), a yearly prevention-planning visit, includes a brief cognitive screening to check memory, thinking, and everyday judgment. Expect questions, direct observation, and possibly a 3-minute task, plus a plan for next steps if anything looks off. Medicare Part B covers the visit once every 12 months to complete a Health Risk Assessment and update a prevention plan, according to Medicare.gov in its yearly wellness visits coverage. The check looks for trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, managing finances, and making everyday decisions.
Medical information disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a physician or other qualified health professional about symptoms, medications, tests, or treatment decisions.
Official resources:
- Check eligibility on Medicare’s official study page — Use this page to check the study’s participation requirements.
- Check eligibility on CMS’s official study page — Use this page to check the study’s participation requirements.
Table of Contents
- How does the check work?
- Which brief tools might your clinic use?
- What does Mini-Cog involve?
- What happens if the screen raises concern?
- What does it cost and how should you prepare?
How does the check work?
CMS defines the required check as assessment by direct observation, with attention to patient reports and concerns from family, friends, or caretakers. The clinician watches how you answer, follow instructions, and explain your history. Your own worries count, and so do observations from someone who knows you well.
The visit also reviews medicines, health history, measurements, and screening needs. Bring a full medicine list, including over-the-counter drugs and supplements. Bring examples of recent slips, such as missed bills or repeated questions.
Which brief tools might your clinic use?
CMS does not require one screening instrument, so clinics may use observation, patient and informant reports, a brief validated tool, or a combination, according to CMS in its billing and coding article for cognitive assessment. Common choices include Mini-Cog, GPCOG, MIS, MoCA, and SLUMS. The choice often depends on clinic habit, time, and patient needs.
The Alzheimer's Association describes one common path as review of the assessment and observations plus a brief patient test and a separate informant test. Patient options include Mini-Cog, GPCOG, or Memory Impairment Screen. Informant options include AD8 or short IQCODE, completed by a family member or close contact.
What does Mini-Cog involve?
Mini-Cog combines three-word recall with a clock-drawing task that serves as a distractor. It takes about 3 minutes and is scored 0-5, according to the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing in its Mini-Cog clinical guide. A score of 0-2 suggests possible impairment and need for follow-up.
The score alone does not diagnose dementia. Poor hearing, poor vision, low education, language mismatch, anxiety, or depression can lower performance. A low score starts a conversation, not a diagnosis.
What happens if the screen raises concern?
If the screen suggests impairment, Medicare covers a separate, more thorough assessment and care-planning visit, billed as CPT 99483, according to CMS in its provider letter on cognitive assessment. That visit evaluates cognition and checks for dementia, depression, anxiety, or delirium. It produces a written care plan for the patient and caregivers.
Expect a longer history, a detailed exam, safety review, and referrals as needed. Ask who will share the written plan and when. Ask whether a family member should attend that follow-up.
What does it cost and how should you prepare?
The wellness visit is conversation-based planning, not a routine physical or treatment visit. When the provider accepts assignment, you pay nothing and Part B deductible does not apply, but extra same-day tests or services can add coinsurance or deductible costs.
Ask before agreeing to add-ons whether they will be billed separately. Useful preparation takes little time:.
- bring medicines, doses, and pharmacy names
- bring a family member or written examples of memory or thinking changes
- note trouble with remembering, learning, concentrating, finances, or daily decisions
- ask whether the clinic uses a brief test, an informant form, or both
