Under Original Medicare, a beneficiary is covered for two types of preventive visits: Welcome to Medicare and Wellness. Below is the difference in the two types of preventive visits:
Welcome to Medicare Visit: During the first 12 months a person is on Part B of Medicare, the beneficiary is entitled to a “Welcome to Medicare” preventive visit. This is a comprehensive visit to review medical and social history as it relates to a person’s health. There is also an education and counseling component to this visit. Many screenings are done as well as certain tests and vaccinations. This is to get a baseline, if not known to the physician, for current medical conditions.
Wellness Visit: Each year after the Welcome to Medicare visit, a beneficiary can have a Wellness visit. It is an update to the Welcome visit with the addition of filling out a health risk assessment and is less comprehensive than the Welcome to Medicare visit. The Wellness visit does include certain vaccinations and some tests. However, the covered tests may be different than during the Welcome visit.
Here is a short YouTube video from CMS on physicals.
Source: www.medicare.gov