Steve Goodman received a phone call in February 2020.  It saved his life.

The call came from the office staff of his primary care provider, Christopher Wagoner, MD, of the Illini Rural Health Clinic in Pittsfield, IL. Dr. Wagoner’s team wanted to know if Steve was interested in participating in Medicare’s Annual Wellness Visit program.

Through the program, anyone who has been covered by Medicare Part B for longer than 12 months can schedule a no-cost yearly wellness visit to develop or update a personalized plan to help prevent disease and disability. The visit includes select health screenings based on a person’s age and medical history. 

Steve scheduled a wellness visit. 

He exercises regularly and was feeling fine, but at the age of 73, and as a former smoker, Steve received a CT scan to screen for lung cancer, an ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm and a test for Hepatitis C as part of the visit.

Two of the screenings were fine. His abdominal aorta, however, showed an area that was “ballooning out,” like a weak spot in a garden hose.  This is known as an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The aorta is the main blood vessel that supplies blood to the lower half of the body. Aneurysms can develop slowly over many years, often with no symptoms. The larger the aneurysm, the more likely it is to break open or tear. If that happens, a person can bleed to death quickly.

The problem area in Steve’s abdominal aorta was 65 percent larger than it would measure normally.

He wasted no time having a stent placed to address the problem.

“Who knows exactly when something would have happened?” Steve pondered. “Probably sooner rather than later.”

“It literally saved his life,” added Dr. Wagoner.

“It’s something I would not have thought of without this Medicare Annual Wellness Visit program,” Steve admitted.

He is grateful for the call from Dr. Wagoner’s office team to discuss the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit program.

“It shows a lot of care for his patients,” Steve said.

Other patients of Dr. Wagoner have had potential cancers, pre-diabetes and memory loss identified as a result of a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit.

During the visit, the provider and patient also discuss reducing fall risks in the home, the importance of advance directives in end-of-life care decision making.

“Unfortunately, what happens in the medical world is when people come to see their primary care provider, the focus is on problems they have already and managing those problems. We don’t get enough time to discuss all the other important items related to their health,” Dr. Wagoner stated.

“The Medicare Annual Wellness Visit program makes that time for provider and patient,” he concluded.

Steve is busy spreading the word among family and friends about the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit program.

 “As long as you are going to be on this earth, you might was well have the best body you can have,” he observed. “If you can do something to help keep it that way, then I’d say that’s what you do.”