FREE MEDICAL SERVICE FOR SENIORS

IF you are on Medicare, you are entitled to a free evaluation called a MEDICARE WELLNESS VISIT.   You pay nothing toward deductibles.  No Co-pays are required.  It's all free to you.

So far, nearly 2,000,000 American seniors have taken advantage of this new benefit of Medicare.    At the visit, the staff and doctor take a complete inventory of your health history, including questions about living wills, past medical illnesses, and screening tests.  The doctor or midlevel will then tell you what tests Medicare recommends for early detection of serious conditions.  The process may take 30-40 minutes and can be done in conjunction with a regular follow-up visit or an office call for an acute condition.  Figure it may take 30-45 minutes to finish this visit, in addition to the time needed to solve your acute issue or to follow-up up on chronic conditions.  Among the things covered are:  past illnesses, including surgeries.  Chronic conditions.  Immunizations.  Living Will/Code Status/P.O.A, gender-specific screening (PSA, mammogram, DEXA scan, pelvic/pelvic) and general screening tests (aortic aneurysm for smokers) and instructional materials about chronic conditions.  This visit does not include any tests or examinations, just review and discussion.  

You can schedule a Medicare Wellness Visit by calling either the Commerce office 577-2630 or the Civic Center clinic 423-9580.  

Coming soon:  screening for depression, alcoholism, and cardiovascular disease.