A physical is hands-on: the doctor examines you and often orders blood work. A Medicare wellness visit is a conversation to build your prevention plan, and Medicare.gov says plainly it is not a routine physical exam.
The wellness visit gives you a risk assessment, history review, medication check, cognitive and falls screening, and a written schedule of due screenings, free with a participating doctor. A hands-on physical can carry cost-sharing, and problem-solving inside a wellness visit gets billed separately. Want the exam too? Say so at booking and ask the price.
What to do
Common questions
What is the difference between a physical and a wellness visit?
They sound like the same appointment and are not, and mixing them up is how people get unexpected bills. A traditional physical is hands-on: the doctor examines you head to toe, listens to your heart and lungs, checks your abdomen, looks in ears and throats, and often orders blood work. A Medicare wellness visit, by contrast, is a conversation: Medicare.gov describes it as a visit to develop or update your personalized plan to help prevent disease or disability, and states directly that it is not a routine physical exam. What the wellness visit actually contains: a health risk questionnaire, your medical and family history, medication and provider lists, basic measurements like blood pressure, cognitive and falls-risk screening, and a written schedule of which screenings you need and when. The billing difference matters: the Medicare wellness visit is free with a participating doctor, while a hands-on physical can carry cost-sharing, and if a wellness visit turns into problem-solving for a specific symptom, that part gets billed separately. If you want the hands-on exam as well, say so when booking and ask what it costs; if you mainly want to know what tests you are due for, the wellness visit is exactly that.