Many Medicare beneficiaries don’t realize that Medicare offers a number of free services to help keep people healthy. When you get these services from a provider enrolled in Medicare, you will not have to pay a deductible or a copay. The covered services include:

All vaccines recommended for people over the age of 65

Annual wellness exams with your primary care provider (these are information gathering visits, not physical exams)

Annual mammograms

Annual prostate cancer screenings

Annual depression screening

Annual glaucoma screening

Bone mass density screenings every two years

Cardiovascular blood screenings every five years

Cervical and vaginal cancer screenings every two years

Colon cancer screenings every 10 years for colonoscopies, more frequently for other kinds of screenings

In addition, there are a number of other screenings that are free if your provider determines that you may be at risk for developing the disease or condition that the screening is intended to detect. Medicare also covers training to help manage a variety of health care conditions if your provider determines that you have the condition and could benefit from the training.

SHIBA, sponsored by Orcas Senior Center, is a free, unbiased, and confidential informational service offered through the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Contact the Lopez Island SHIBA office at 404-259-6819 or renkshiba@gmail.com to schedule a counseling session.