View all text of Subpart B [§ 410.10 - § 410.79]
§ 410.15 - Annual wellness visits providing Personalized Prevention Plan Services: Conditions for and limitations on coverage.
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this section—
A review of any current opioid prescriptions means, with respect to the individual determined to have a current prescription for opioids, all of the following:
(i) A review of the potential risk factors to the individual for opioid use disorder;
(ii) An evaluation of the individual's severity of pain and current treatment plan;
(iii) The provision of information on non-opioid treatment options; and
(iv) A referral to a specialist, as appropriate.
Detection of any cognitive impairment means assessment of an individual's cognitive function by direct observation, with due consideration of information obtained by way of patient report, concerns raised by family members, friends, caretakers or others.
Eligible beneficiary means an individual who is no longer within 12 months after the effective date of his or her first Medicare Part B coverage period and who has not received either an initial preventive physical examination or an annual wellness visit providing a personalized prevention plan within the past 12 months.
Establishment of, or an update to the individual's medical and family history means, at minimum, the collection and documentation of the following:
(i) Past medical and surgical history, including experiences with illnesses, hospital stays, operations, allergies, injuries and treatments.
(ii) Use or exposure to medications and supplements, including calcium and vitamins.
(iii) Medical events in the beneficiary's parents and any siblings and children, including diseases that may be hereditary or place the individual at increased risk.
First annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services means the following services furnished to an eligible beneficiary by a health professional that include, and take into account the results of, a health risk assessment, as those terms are defined in this section:
(i) Review (and administration if needed) of a health risk assessment (as defined in this section).
(ii) Establishment of an individual's medical and family history.
(iii) Establishment of a list of current providers and suppliers that are regularly involved in providing medical care to the individual.
(iv) Measurement of an individual's height, weight, body-mass index (or waist circumference, if appropriate), blood pressure, and other routine measurements as deemed appropriate, based on the beneficiary's medical and family history.
(v) Detection of any cognitive impairment that the individual may have, as that term is defined in this section.
(vi) Review of the individual's potential (risk factors) for depression, including current or past experiences with depression or other mood disorders, based on the use of an appropriate screening instrument for persons without a current diagnosis of depression, which the health professional may select from various available standardized screening tests designed for this purpose and recognized by national medical professional organizations.
(vii) Review of the individual's functional ability and level of safety, based on direct observation or the use of appropriate screening questions or a screening questionnaire, which the health professional as defined in this section may select from various available screening questions or standardized questionnaires designed for this purpose and recognized by national professional medical organizations.
(viii) Establishment of the following:
(A) A written screening schedule for the individual such as a checklist for the next 5 to 10 years, as appropriate, based on recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and the individual's health risk assessment (as that term is defined in this section), health status, screening history, and age-appropriate preventive services covered by Medicare.
(B) A list of risk factors and conditions for which primary, secondary or tertiary interventions are recommended or are underway for the individual, including any mental health conditions or any such risk factors or conditions that have been identified through an initial preventive physical examination (as described under § 410.16 of this subpart), and a list of treatment options and their associated risks and benefits.
(ix) Furnishing of personalized health advice to the individual and a referral, as appropriate, to health education or preventive counseling services or programs aimed at reducing identified risk factors and improving self management, or community-based lifestyle interventions to reduce health risks and promote self-management and wellness, including weight loss, physical activity, smoking cessation, fall prevention, and nutrition.
(x) At the discretion of the beneficiary, furnish advance care planning services to include discussion about future care decisions that may need to be made, how the beneficiary can let others know about care preferences, and explanation of advance directives which may involve the completion of standard forms.
(xi) Furnishing of a review of any current opioid prescriptions as that term is defined in this section.
(xii) Screening for potential substance use disorders including a review of the individual's potential risk factors for substance use disorder and referral for treatment as appropriate.
(xiii) At the discretion of the health professional and beneficiary, furnish a Social Determinants of Health Risk Assessment that is standardized, evidence-based, and furnished in a manner that all communication with the patient is appropriate for the beneficiary's educational, developmental, and health literacy level, and is culturally and linguistically appropriate.
(xiv) Any other element determined appropriate through the national coverage determination process.
Health professional means—
(i) A physician who is a doctor of medicine or osteopathy (as defined in section 1861(r)(1) of the Act); or
(ii) A physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist (as defined in section 1861(aa)(5) of the Act); or
(iii) A medical professional (including a health educator, a registered dietitian, or nutrition professional, or other licensed practitioner) or a team of such medical professionals, working under the direct supervision (as defined in § 410.32(b)(3)(ii)) of a physician as defined in paragraph (i) of this definition.
Health risk assessment means, for the purposes of this section, an evaluation tool that meets the following criteria:
(i) Collects self-reported information about the beneficiary.
(ii) Can be administered independently by the beneficiary or administered by a health professional prior to or as part of the AWV encounter.
(iii) Is appropriately tailored to and takes into account the communication needs of underserved populations, persons with limited English proficiency, and persons with health literacy needs.
(iv) Takes no more than 20 minutes to complete.
(v) Addresses, at a minimum, the following topics:
(A) Demographic data, including but not limited to age, gender, race, and ethnicity.
(B) Self assessment of health status, frailty, and physical functioning.
(C) Psychosocial risks, including but not limited to, depression/life satisfaction, stress, anger, loneliness/social isolation, pain, and fatigue.
(D) Behavioral risks, including but not limited to, tobacco use, physical activity, nutrition and oral health, alcohol consumption, sexual health, motor vehicle safety (seat belt use), and home safety.
(E) Activities of daily living (ADLs), including but not limited to, dressing, feeding, toileting, grooming, physical ambulation (including balance/risk of falls), and bathing.
(F) Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), including but not limited to, shopping, food preparation, using the telephone, housekeeping, laundry, mode of transportation, responsibility for own medications, and ability to handle finances.
Review of the individual's functional ability and level of safety means, at minimum, assessment of the following topics:
(i) Hearing impairment.
(ii) Ability to successfully perform activities of daily living.
(iii) Fall risk.
(iv) Home safety.
Subsequent annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services means the following services furnished to an eligible beneficiary by a health professional that include, and take into account the results of an updated health risk assessment, as those terms are defined in this section:
(i) Review (and administration, if needed) of an updated health risk assessment (as defined in this section).
(ii) An update of the individual's medical and family history.
(iii) An update of the list of current providers and suppliers that are regularly involved in providing medical care to the individual as that list was developed for the first annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services or the previous subsequent annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services.
(iv) Measurement of an individual's weight (or waist circumference), blood pressure and other routine measurements as deemed appropriate, based on the individual's medical and family history.
(v) Detection of any cognitive impairment that the individual may have, as that term is defined in this section.
(vi) An update to the following:
(A) The written screening schedule for the individual as that schedule is defined in paragraph (a) of this section for the first annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services.
(B) The list of risk factors and conditions for which primary, secondary or tertiary interventions are recommended or are underway for the individual as that list was developed at the first annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services or the previous subsequent annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services.
(vii) Furnishing of personalized health advice to the individual and a referral, as appropriate, to health education or preventive counseling services or programs as that advice and related services are defined in paragraph (a) of this section.
(viii) At the discretion of the beneficiary, furnish advance care planning services to include discussion about future care decisions that may need to be made, how the beneficiary can let others know about care preferences, and explanation of advance directives which may involve the completion of standard forms.
(ix) Furnishing of a review of any current opioid prescriptions as that term is defined in this section.
(x) Screening for potential substance use disorders including a review of the individual's potential risk factors for substance use disorder and referral for treatment as appropriate.
(xi) At the discretion of the health professional and beneficiary, furnish a Social Determinants of Health Risk Assessment that is standardized, evidence-based, and furnished in a manner that all communication with the patient is appropriate for the beneficiary's educational, developmental, and health literacy level, and is culturally and linguistically appropriate.
(xii) Any other element determined appropriate through the national coverage determination process.
(b) Conditions for coverage of annual wellness visits providing personalized prevention plan services. Medicare Part B pays for first and subsequent annual wellness visits providing personalized prevention plan services that are furnished to an eligible beneficiary, as described in this section, if they are furnished by a health professional, as defined in this section.
(c) Limitations on coverage of an annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services. Payment may not be made for either a first or a subsequent annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services that is performed for an individual who is—
(1) Not an eligible beneficiary as described in this section.
(2) An eligible beneficiary as described in this section and who has had either an initial preventive physical examination as specified in § 410.16 of this subpart or either a first or a subsequent annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services performed within the past 12 months.
(d) Effective date. Coverage for an annual wellness visit providing personalized prevention plan services is effective for services furnished on or after January 1, 2011.