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CDC
Joins Medicare in Promoting New "Welcome to Medicare" Physical Exam
 Mandatory
physical exams, other testing begins January 1, 2005
Nov. 10, 2004 – Medicare has joined with the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to begin educating senior
citizens on the new preventive health care program that will require a
medical exam for all those joining the program beginning January 1,
2005.
The “Welcome to Medicare” physical exam, coupled
with an increasingly broad set of preventive benefits including
prescription drug coverage, provides Medicare beneficiaries with greater
access to more prevention-focused benefits than ever before, according
to Medicare.
America’s seniors will soon have new benefits that
will help them live healthier lives, including Medicare-provided medical
screenings for heart disease and diabetes, HHS Secretary Tommy G.
Thompson said yesterday in announcing the department-wide campaign to
maximize preventative health care.
To support the focus on prevention-oriented health
care for seniors, Secretary Thompson launched a coordination of
resources between HHS agencies, specifically the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).
“We are committed to healthy aging and to closing
the prevention gap so America’s seniors can learn new ways to prevent
illness and if they do get sick, to treat problems early,” Secretary
Thompson said. “This new effort will improve the quality of life for
seniors and their families.”
Medicare recently mailed an updated “Medicare and
You” handbook that, for the first time, emphasizes Medicare’s new
prevention-oriented focus. The handbook informs beneficiaries of what
they should do to take advantage of these new services dedicated to
early detection and treatment of disease.
“Too many seniors do not use the services that make
it possible to find and treat illnesses before they lead to more serious
problems, as well as avoidable increases in health care costs,” said CMS
Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. “The new law gives us the
tools to close this ‘prevention gap’ for seniors, and we’re going to do
all we can to use these new opportunities to keep seniors healthy.”
The difference between the number of seniors who
could take advantage of preventive services that include vaccines and
screenings and those who actually do is known as the “prevention gap.”
CMS will also work closely with the CDC and other
HHS agencies to share the prevention message with seniors and their
families throughout the nation to broaden the emphasis on prevention and
early detection, including the areas of diabetes, elevated cholesterol
levels and cancer. These services are among features of the Medicare
Modernization Act (MMA), signed into law by President George W. Bush in
December 2003.
“This new Medicare screening exam will go a long
way to help protect our seniors’ health and thus help them achieve their
full life expectancy,” said CDC Director Julie Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H.
“It will also provide an opportunity to educate our seniors of the
importance of choosing health by eating a diet rich in fruits and
vegetables, engaging in regular physical activity and not smoking -- all
things that can help prevent chronic diseases which rob so many people
of their health.”
Medicare’s new comprehensive set of preventive
benefits includes the “Welcome to Medicare” physical exam and screening
for heart disease and diabetes. Coverage also includes screening for
weak bones, glaucoma, and cancers of the colon, breast, cervix, and
prostate.
The exam is aimed at providing education and
counseling about the preventive services that may be needed. Dr.
McClellan said he believes the exam will significantly improve the
health prospects of Medicare beneficiaries as they enter the program and
learn about preventive measure they may not have known were needed.
Closing the prevention gap, Dr. McClellan noted,
could save many thousands of lives and billions of dollars in avoidable
medical expenses for preventable complications associated with heart
disease, diabetes, cancer, weak bones, high blood pressure, smoking,
inactive lifestyles, and other illnesses and unhealthy behaviors.
“Medicare’s coverage and Medicare’s expenses have
historically focused on paying to treat costly health problems after
they occur,” said Dr. McClellan. “With Medicare’s new support to help
seniors use recommended preventive care and prescription drugs to avoid
these costly and debilitating problems, that’s going to change.”
Dr. McClellan also noted that Medicare Advantage
(MA) plans have the flexibility to cover far-reaching prevention
services, such as wellness programs, beyond what Medicare covers. MA
plans offer prevention benefits including health education services,
exercise programs and other services that not only alert patients to
potential health risks, but also actually work with them to change
harmful lifestyles and encourage healthy behavioral changes.
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