The Free Fall Risk Check Hiding in Your Medicare Wellness Visit

Medicare's Annual Wellness Visit is free once a year, and it is built to catch problems before they turn into an emergency room visit. One of the things it is supposed to catch is your risk of falling, but that part of the visit rarely gets top billing.

Most people book the visit, answer a health questionnaire, and leave without ever hearing the words fall risk. If you want that check done, you usually have to ask for it by name.

What the Annual Wellness Visit Actually Covers

Medicare Part B covers one Annual Wellness Visit every 12 months at no cost, as long as your provider accepts assignment. The visit is meant to build or update a personalized prevention plan, and that plan is required to include a review of your risk factors for falling, along with your functional ability and safety at home.

The problem is that the visit is fast, and the fall risk piece is easy to skip if nobody brings it up. Naming it directly, using the words fall risk assessment, gets it back on the list.

What Happens After the Check

If your provider flags you as at risk, that should lead somewhere, not just a note in your chart. Common next steps include a referral to physical therapy for balance and strength work, a medication review to see if something is contributing, or a home safety evaluation.

Ask which of these applies to you specifically, and get the referral in writing before you leave. A verbal mention that gets lost by the next appointment does not help you.

If a fall has already happened and you are past the wellness visit stage, After a Fall: A First-Week Recovery Plan covers what to do in the days right after.