CMS Pub. 100-04, ch. 18, § 140

Pursuant to section 4103 of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

amended section 411.15(a)(1) and 411.15(k)(15) of 42 CFR (list of examples of routine physical examinations

excluded from coverage) effective for services furnished on or after January 1, 2011. This expanded coverage is

subject to certain eligibility and other limitations that allow payment for an annual wellness visit (AWV), including

personalized prevention plan services (PPPS), for an individual who is no longer within 12 months after the effective

date of his or her first Medicare Part B coverage period, and has not received either an initial preventive physical

examination (IPPE) or an AWV within the past 12 months.

The AWV will include the establishment of, or update to, the individual’s medical/family history, measurement of

his/her height, weight, body-mass index (BMI) or waist circumference, and blood pressure (BP), with the goal of

health promotion and disease detection and encouraging patients to obtain the screening and preventive services that

may already be covered and paid for under Medicare Part B. CMS amended 42 CFR §§411.15(a)(1) and

411.15(k)(15) to allow payment on or after January 1, 2011, for an AWV (as established at 42 CFR 410.15) when

performed by qualified health professionals.

Coverage is available for an AWV that meets the following requirements:

1. It is performed by a health professional;

2. It is furnished to an eligible beneficiary who is no longer within 12 months after the effective date of his/her first

Medicare Part B coverage period, and he/she has not received either an IPPE or an AWV providing PPPS within the

past 12 months.

See Pub. 100-02,Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, chapter 15, section 280.5, for detailed policy regarding the AWV,

including definitions of: (1) detection of cognitive impairment, (2) eligible beneficiary, (3) establishment of, or an

update to, an individual’s medical/family history, (4&5) first and subsequent AWVs providing PPPS, (6) health

professional, and, (7) review of an individual’s functional ability/level of safety.