New Medicare enrollees have a benefit waiting for them that costs nothing and expires if it is not used in time. The one-time “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit is available during the first 12 months a person has Part B, and when the provider accepts assignment it carries no coinsurance and no deductible. The visit is meant to set a baseline for a new beneficiary’s health, arrange the screenings Medicare covers, and point toward the referrals a person may need. Its value lies not only in the price but in the timing, because the window is narrow and the visit is easy to confuse with the annual checkup that comes later.
Who qualifies and when the clock runs
Eligibility for the visit is tied directly to Part B enrollment, the portion of Medicare that covers doctor services and outpatient care. The moment a person’s Part B coverage begins, a 12-month clock starts, and the Welcome to Medicare visit must take place within that first year to be covered as this specific benefit. After the 12 months pass, the one-time visit is no longer available, though other preventive services remain.
The benefit is a single event, not a recurring one, which is part of why it is so often missed. A new enrollee juggling paperwork, new cards, and a raft of coverage decisions may not realize a free introductory visit is on the table until the year has slipped away. Medicare describes the details and the timing of the Welcome to Medicare preventive visit on its coverage pages, including the requirement that it fall inside that first year of Part B. Because it is optional, no one is automatically scheduled for it; the beneficiary has to ask.
Free retirement updates: Enrollment and claim windows come and go, and missing one can cost you real money. The free Retirement Shield newsletter keeps you ahead of the deadlines that matter. Sign up free.
What the visit includes
The visit is a review of a new beneficiary’s overall health rather than a treatment appointment. It typically covers a look at medical and family history, a check of height, weight, and blood pressure, and a discussion of risk factors and current medications. The provider uses the appointment to identify which of Medicare’s covered screenings and preventive services a person is due for, from cardiovascular checks to cancer screenings to vaccines, and to arrange referrals for any of them.
Cost is the defining feature. When the provider accepts assignment, the beneficiary pays nothing for the visit itself, with no coinsurance and no application of the Part B deductible. That protection depends on the provider agreeing to Medicare’s approved amount, which is why confirming that a doctor accepts assignment matters before the appointment. A separate charge can still arise if the provider performs an additional test or service during the same visit that falls outside the preventive benefit, so a beneficiary who wants to keep the visit free should understand which parts are the covered screening and which are extra.
The appointment also serves as an on-ramp to a coordinated care plan. By flagging screenings a person is eligible for and setting up referrals, the visit turns a scattered set of covered services into an organized starting point. For someone new to the program, that structure can be as valuable as the zero price, since it reduces the chance that a covered screening goes unused simply because no one raised it.
Because the visit is preventive rather than diagnostic, a beneficiary does not need to arrive with a specific complaint to justify it; the appointment exists precisely to flag risks before they harden into problems. The visit is requested, not assigned, so a new enrollee books it by telling a primary-care provider directly that the one-time Welcome to Medicare visit is what is wanted. Confirming at the time of booking that the office will bill the appointment as the preventive benefit, rather than as an ordinary office call, is what keeps the no-cost protection intact when the claim is filed.
How it differs from the yearly wellness visit
The most common source of confusion is that Medicare covers two different preventive visits, and mixing them up can cost a beneficiary the free one. The Welcome to Medicare visit is a one-time event limited to the first 12 months of Part B. The yearly wellness visit is a separate benefit that becomes available after a person has had Part B for more than 12 months and then repeats each year. They are not the same appointment, and a person does not have to have the Welcome visit in order to later receive the annual wellness visits.
The practical takeaway is that the introductory visit is a use-it-or-lose-it benefit, while the wellness visit is an ongoing one. A new enrollee who books the Welcome visit inside the first year captures a screening and planning appointment at no cost, then transitions into the yearly wellness visits afterward. A person who lets the first year pass loses the introductory visit specifically, but still keeps access to the annual wellness visit going forward, along with the other covered preventive screenings.
For older Americans watching every medical dollar, the lesson is about acting inside the window. The Welcome to Medicare visit is one of the few benefits Medicare offers entirely free and only once, and its whole value depends on scheduling it before the 12-month clock expires. Knowing that the visit exists, that it is distinct from the yearly wellness checkup, and that assignment keeps it free is what separates the beneficiaries who claim it from the many who never do. The benefit is generous, but it rewards only those who move early.
This article was researched and drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
More Financial Reading
