Medicare covers telehealth Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs) with no deductibles or coinsurance for Part B beneficiaries when an eligible provider accepts assignment, making this one of the most underused free benefits in the program. The visit is not a physical exam. It is a structured, conversation-based session that produces a Personalized Prevention Plan tailored to your health risks, goals, and care gaps. You can complete it from home, a caregiver’s house, or anywhere with a reliable internet connection or phone. Here is what you get:
The AWV is built around prevention, not diagnosis. Its core output is a Personalized Prevention Plan (PPS) that documents your health history, risk factors, and a roadmap for the year ahead.
AWV components cover a wide range of preventive priorities:
One thing the AWV does not include: a physical exam. That distinction trips up a lot of patients. The visit is entirely focused on planning and prevention, which is exactly why it translates so well to telehealth.
Eligibility is straightforward. You need Medicare Part B, and you must be at least 12 months past your Welcome to Medicare visit (also called the Initial Preventive Physical Exam, or IPPE) before scheduling your first AWV. After that, you can have one AWV per year.
The telehealth version follows the same timing rules as an in-person AWV. Medicare pays for G0438 and G0439 when services are delivered via telehealth, with no deductibles or coinsurance for the patient. You cannot bill G0438 or G0439 within 12 months of billing G0402 for the same patient.
A few practical limits apply:
Pro Tip: Ask your provider’s billing team to confirm they use G0438 or G0439 for telehealth AWVs. A visit coded incorrectly can result in unexpected charges even when coverage applies.
A telehealth AWV typically runs 30–45 minutes. The provider walks through your health history, screens for cognitive and mood changes, reviews your medications, and works with you to update or create your Personalized Prevention Plan.
Pre-visit preparation makes a real difference. Gather these before logging on:
Patients who arrive with this information move through the visit faster and leave with a more specific prevention plan. Those who show up unprepared often spend the first half of the visit reconstructing basic health data.
Privacy protections apply the same way they do for in-person visits. Providers use HIPAA-compliant platforms, and your health information is protected under federal law. Choose a private location for the call, and use a secure Wi-Fi connection rather than a public network.
Most Medicare beneficiaries can schedule a telehealth AWV through their existing primary care provider. The key question to ask upfront: does your provider accept Medicare assignment and bill telehealth AWV codes?
If your current provider does not offer telehealth AWVs, Medicare.gov’s provider lookup tool lets you search for Medicare-participating providers in your area. Telehealth platforms that accept Medicare are another option, particularly for patients in rural areas or those whose primary care provider does not offer virtual visits.
Practical steps to get scheduled:
Early scheduling matters. AWV slots fill quickly at the start of the year, and waiting until December limits your ability to act on any referrals or screenings the visit generates.
Telehealth AWVs are significantly underutilized. In 2022, only 2.1% of Medicare’s 8.6 million AWVs were completed via telehealth, down from 6.7% in 2020. That gap exists despite clear coverage and real access advantages for patients who struggle to get to a clinic.
The American Medical Association identifies telehealth as a tool that improves care continuity and reduces costs by enabling early interventions before minor issues escalate to emergency care. AWVs are a natural fit for this model because their entire purpose is prevention, not acute treatment.
Clinics that fully integrate AWVs report stronger patient retention and more consistent delivery of evidence-based preventive care. Those that treat AWVs as administrative overhead tend to underutilize them, leaving both patients and providers worse off.
A few persistent challenges limit broader adoption:
Pro Tip: Combine your AWV with Advance Care Planning in the same telehealth session. Providers can bill for both separately, and you get two high-value preventive services in one visit at no additional cost to you.
If your current provider does not offer telehealth AWVs, or if you want same-day access to experienced medical professionals without the wait, RoenRx offers a practical path forward.
RoenRx provides on-demand virtual care for primary care, weight management, anxiety, and more, with same-day appointments and direct messaging with your care team. For Medicare-eligible patients who want consistent preventive care without the friction of traditional scheduling, that kind of access changes what’s possible. You can also review telehealth consent requirements directly on the RoenRx site before your first visit, so you arrive prepared and covered. Ready to get started? Visit RoenRx to book your virtual visit today.
Medicare telehealth AWVs deliver full preventive care benefits at no cost to Part B beneficiaries, yet only 2.1% of AWVs in 2022 were completed via telehealth despite clear coverage and access advantages.
| Point | Details |
|---|---|
| No cost to you | Medicare covers telehealth AWVs with no deductibles or coinsurance under codes G0438 and G0439. |
| Once per year | You can schedule one AWV annually, at least 12 months after your Welcome to Medicare visit. |
| Preparation matters | Bringing blood pressure, weight, and a medication list makes your Personalized Prevention Plan more specific and useful. |
| Underutilized benefit | Only 2.1% of Medicare AWVs in 2022 were done via telehealth, indicating underuse of this available benefit, leaving most eligible patients missing out. |
| RoenRx virtual care | RoenRx offers same-day virtual appointments and direct care team messaging for Medicare-eligible patients seeking consistent preventive access. |
