Medicare increases preventive care, screening coverage

It's well documented that preventive care has significant wellness benefits, not to mention cost-saving advantages. However, at present, less than 10 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are getting all recommended health screenings and immunizations. Hoping to turn this trend around, CMS has begun authorizing more spending on screenings and immunizations.

Over the past five years, Medicare began covering glaucoma screenings, medical-nutrition therapy, cardiovascular and diabetic screenings, along with smoking- and tobacco-cessation counseling. This year, it has begun covering a wide range of new screening services and procedures, including ultrasound screenings for aortic aneurysms for those at risk, vaccines for flu, pneumonia and hep B, mammograms and diabetes self-management training.

To find out more about this trend:
- read this Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report piece

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