Medicare is a federal government health insurance program primarily for people age 65 and older that can also cover younger individuals with specific health conditions and disabilities.
Medicare includes different types of coverage — hospital insurance (Part A), medical insurance (Part B), Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) and prescription drug coverage (Part D).
While it's true you pay a Medicare premium each month, an annual deductible, and possibly a copayment for doctor visits and prescription drugs, Medicare also offers many services with no out-of-pocket costs. Many of these services could save your life, but not all are covered in all facilities or for all conditions.
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Some freebies might not be available with Medicare Advantage, and there could be limitations on how often you can take advantage of a free service. Still, it’s worth knowing about these 19 things Medicare provides for free.
1. Annual wellness visit
After your first year with Medicare Part B, you're eligible for an annual wellness visit once every 12 months. Consider this visit a time for your provider to establish a baseline for future care.
Your medical history and medications will be reviewed. Your provider will also take your blood pressure, height and weight, do a simple vision test, and ask several questions about your mental and behavioral health. You'll also be asked about any changes in your health history and if you have any future care preferences.
During this visit, you might also be encouraged to get a flu, pneumococcal or other preventative care shot.
Your annual wellness visit is covered by Medicare Part B at no cost to you if provided by a participating doctor. You might have to pay a co-insurance fee if any additional tests or services are performed.
2. Yearly wellness visits
According to Medicare, your yearly wellness visit is to “update your personalized plan to help prevent disease or disability.”
It is not a comprehensive annual physical exam, which Medicare doesn’t cover. Instead, your provider will complete a risk assessment and use the results to update the care plan created during your welcome visit.
You're eligible for an annual wellness visit once every 12 months after your first year of signing up for Medicare Part B.
3. Seasonal vaccines
Medicare covers most vaccines at no cost to enrollees who have Medicare Part D prescription plans or Medicare Advantage drug coverage, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022. These vaccines could include:
- Flu shot. Yearly, at no cost.
- Pneumococcal vaccines. No cost for one dose of each type (PCV15/20 and PPSV23) for most beneficiaries.
- Hepatitis B vaccine. No cost for high-risk individuals.
- COVID-19 vaccine. No cost, including boosters.
People who are at greater risk of complications or hospitalizations from these illnesses can greatly benefit from these free vaccines.
4. Alcohol counseling
Medicare will cover the cost of one screening for alcohol misuse each year.
If you use alcohol but haven’t received an alcohol dependency diagnosis, your primary care doctor or other health care provider might determine if you’re misusing alcohol. If so, you can receive up to four face-to-face counseling sessions in your doctor's office or clinic each year.
About 18 million adults in the U.S. have an alcohol use disorder (AUD), making this a valuable service for those who need help.
5. Treatment for opioid use
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 70% to 76% of U.S. drug overdose deaths in recent years involve opioids, particularly fentanyl.
Fortunately, Medicare covers the cost of recovery treatments for opioid use disorder. You won’t pay a copay if you receive your treatments through an opioid treatment program (OTP) enrolled in Medicare.
Your treatment plan might include overdose training, assessments, drug tests, therapy and more. Your Medicare Part B deductible applies to any medications or other supplies you receive as part of your treatment plan.
6. Colorectal screenings
Colorectal cancer is expected to cause about 52,900 deaths in the U.S. in 2025, according to the American Cancer Society. A screening for colon cancer can help ensure that it doesn’t happen to you.
Medicare covers four screening tests for colorectal cancer, including:
- A fecal occult blood test every 12 months, starting at age 45
- A flexible sigmoidoscopy every 48 months, also starting at age 45
- A stool DNA test every three years for people ages 45 to 85 who are not at high risk for colon cancer and have no symptoms of colorectal disease
- A screening colonoscopy every 10 years if you're not at high risk for colon cancer, or every two years if you have a family history of colon cancer or have had past colon problems
7. Cardiovascular screenings
Every five years, Medicare covers a cardiovascular disease screening at no cost to you. As part of Medicare Part B (medical insurance), the screenings typically include blood tests for cholesterol, triglycerides, and lipid levels — all conditions that could lead to a heart attack or stroke. The tests are free if your doctor or other qualified health care provider accepts Medicare.
Medicare also covers a one-time screening for an abdominal aorta aneurysm, which is a ballooning out of the main blood vessel that carries blood to the legs. Only people who have risk factors for an aneurysm, such as a history of smoking, are eligible. If your provider accepts Medicare, the screening is free.
8. Depression screenings
Medicare Part B recipients receive one depression screening in their primary care provider's office each year, free of charge.
During the screening, you might be asked about sleeping habits, if you’ve contemplated suicide, if you have feelings of hopelessness, etc. If your provider recommends follow-up treatment, your co-insurance under Part B would apply.
The frequency of depression in U.S. adults and adolescents has increased by 60% in the past decade, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). For that reason, it’s worth it to be screened, especially since the screening is covered.
9. Yearly mammograms
Once a year, Medicare will pay for a screening mammogram if you're a woman age 40 and older. Yet, 59% of respondents in a survey given by MedStar Health say they typically forgo this recommended routine exam.
If the screening mammogram shows suspicious results, your health care provider might order a diagnostic mammogram. If this happens, you might be responsible for some of the cost of the diagnostic mammogram. The same applies if your doctor orders a breast ultrasound.
Even so, a mammogram is a woman's best chance of detecting breast cancer early when treatment is most effective. Since Medicare covers the cost, it makes sense to get it done.
10. Diabetes screenings
Slightly more than 38 million people have diabetes in the U.S., according to the CDC. Yet, 22.8% of adults with diabetes are undiagnosed, even though Medicare Part B covers up to two diabetes screenings each year.
Your provider will determine if you're at risk for developing diabetes and if you have risk factors such as high blood pressure or a history of high blood sugar.
Medicare Part B will also cover these screenings if two or more of the following conditions apply:
- You're age of 65 or older
- You're overweight
- You have a family history of diabetes
- You’ve had gestational diabetes while pregnant
11. Lung cancer screenings
The Mayo Clinic states that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.
You don't have to be a smoker to get lung cancer. According to the CDC, secondhand smoke is responsible for approximately 7,300 lung cancer deaths each year among U.S. adults who don't smoke.
Medicare will cover one screening each year using low-dose computed tomography if: you’re age 50 to 77, and have no signs or symptoms of lung cancer; you smoke now or have smoked in the past 15 years; have a history of smoking; or you get an order from your health care provider for the screening,
12. Yearly prostate cancer screenings
Approximately 12.8% or one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their lifetimes. But did you know that more than 99% of prostate cancers occur in men age 50 and older?
Medicare Part B covers the cost of a yearly prostate-specific antigen (PSA) lab screening and a digital rectal exam starting the day after your 50th birthday.
13. Nutrition services
If you have kidney disease or diabetes, or you’ve received a kidney transplant in the past 36 months, Medicare will cover some nutrition services, including an initial nutrition and lifestyle assessment to help you manage your illness.
Follow-up visits to your doctor and individual or group sessions might also be covered.
14. Bone density tests
Bone density tests can help measure whether you're at risk for broken bones. They're free to eligible Medicare recipients every two years, or more often if ordered by your health care provider.
To qualify, you must meet one or more of the following criteria:
- You're a woman diagnosed as estrogen-deficient and at risk of osteoporosis
- Your X-rays show possible osteoporosis, osteopenia or vertebral fractures
- You take prednisone or other steroid-type drugs
- You have primary hyperparathyroidism
- You're on osteoporosis drug therapy
15. Cervical Cancer Screening
Every two years, or every year if you're at high-risk, Medicare Part B covers all female patient screening Pap tests and pelvic exams when ordered and performed by an authorized medical professional.
Every year, about 13,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed, and about 4,000 women die of this cancer. It's logical to have the test done.
16. Obesity Screening and Counseling
In most cases, if you have a BMI of 30-plus, Medicare will cover the cost of obesity screenings and behavioral counseling.
However, that's only if your primary care doctor or other primary care practitioner gives the counseling in a primary care setting (such as a doctor's office).
The doctor or practitioner must accept assignment, agree to be paid directly by Medicare, and agree not to bill you for any copayments or co-insurance fees.
Read: More Weight-Loss Drugs, Like Ozempic, are in the Works: Kiplinger Economic Forecasts
17. Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) screening
If you're at high risk for a sexually transmitted infection — chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis — Medicare will cover the cost of a yearly exam. This also covers HIV screening (yearly or during pregnancy).
Medicare will also cover up to two face-to-face counseling sessions if you’re a sexually active adult at an increased risk for these infections.
18. Hepatitis C screening
Medicare covers the cost of one Hepatitis C screening for adults born from 1945 to 1965 or if you're at high risk for Hepatitis C.
Your primary care doctor or other health care provider must order the exam, and you must meet at least one of these conditions: You use or have used illicit injection drugs; or you had a blood transfusion before 1992.
19. Other services and items
In specific cases, Medicare will also cover the costs of the services or items listed below:
- Home health services (Part A): If you're homebound, periodic skilled nursing, physical therapy or other services can be performed at your home at no cost if medically necessary. Durable medical equipment might incur a co-insurance fee.
- Hospice care (Part A): Hospice care is covered at no cost for terminal illness (6 months or less prognosis). You might have to pay small copays for drugs or respite care.
- Clinical lab services: Certain lab tests, such as blood tests or urinalysis, if ordered by a doctor, are covered at no cost to you under Part B.
- Durable medical equipment (DME): In rare cases, specific DME might have no cost attached if supplied through competitive bidding programs, but most DME requires 20% co-insurance.
Programs that can help defer costs
While these 19 services are generally completely free to Medicare beneficiaries, there are services Medicare doesn't cover, or that require a copayment, co-insurance, or other out-of-pocket costs. Fortunately, some programs can help defer some of these costs.
Medigap. Medigap, or Medicare supplement insurance, helps cover deductibles, copayments, and co-insurance not fully paid by Medicare. Medigap fills the gaps in original Medicare coverage and is available through private insurance companies.
Extra Help. The Extra Help program assists with Part D costs — about $6,200 of medication expenses per year — for someone with limited income and resources.
Medicaid. Medicaid is a state-funded program that helps people with low incomes pay for health care.
Medicare Savings Programs. These programs also help people with low incomes pay certain costs. If you qualify, Medicare Savings Programs might also help pay your Part A and Part B deductibles, co-insurance, and copayments.
Nine things Medicare doesn't cover
Medicare covers most health care needs for older Americans, but, as a rule, some things just aren’t part of the program.
- Routine dental care
- Routine eye exams and glasses
- Hearing aids
- Many chiropractors’ services
- Elective cosmetic surgery
- Massage therapy
- Podiatrist’s routine foot care
- Medical costs outside the U.S.
- Long-term care (custodial care)
The last word
If you’ve signed up for Medicare, it's time to start taking advantage of these 19 free services the program offers.
Schedule your welcome visit right away and tuck the cash you save under your mattress for a rainy day.
Better yet, pay down high-interest debt, start an emergency fund, or splurge on yourself — you only turn 65 once.
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