Medicare Part B Preventive Care: The Screenings Texans Can Get at No Cost

Most people know Part B pays for doctor visits. Fewer know it also covers a long list of screenings, shots, and checkups, most of them at no cost. If you're paying the standard $202.90 a month for Part B in 2026, these are some of the easiest benefits to put to use.

Two visits to start with

The "Welcome to Medicare" visit. Once within your first 12 months of Part B, you get a one-time preventive visit. Your provider reviews your medical and social history, checks your body mass index, gives you a simple vision test, reviews your risk for depression, and hands you a written checklist of the screenings and shots you need. If that depression review raises concerns, our guide to Medicare mental health coverage explains the therapy and counseling Part B covers.

The yearly wellness visit. After that first year, you can get a wellness visit once a year. It's a conversation about your health risks, medications, and screening schedule, and it includes a short Health Risk Assessment questionnaire. Your provider also screens for signs of dementia.

Both visits cost nothing when your provider accepts assignment, and the Part B deductible doesn't apply.

Screenings Part B covers

Screening	Typical frequency
Mammogram	Every 12 months for women 40 and older
Colonoscopy	Every 120 months at average risk; every 24 months at high risk
Cardiovascular blood tests	Once every 5 years
Diabetes screening	Up to 2 a year if you're at risk
Lung cancer screening (low-dose CT)	Yearly for ages 50–77 who meet smoking-history rules
Bone mass measurement	Every 24 months if you meet certain conditions
Prostate cancer screening	Every 12 months for men over 50
Cervical cancer screening	Every 24 months, or every 12 months at high risk
Depression screening	Once a year in a primary care setting

Other colorectal options, such as stool DNA tests, blood-based tests, and CT colonography, are also covered on their own schedules. Ask your provider which fits you. If a screening shows prediabetes or diabetes, our guide to what Medicare covers for diabetes explains the prevention program, nutrition therapy, and supplies Medicare covers.

Shots Part B covers

• Flu, usually once per flu season
• Pneumococcal (pneumonia)
• COVID-19
• Hepatitis B, if you never finished the series, don't know your history, or are at medium or high risk

The shingles vaccine is covered under Part D, not Part B. If you have Part D, you pay nothing for it.

When "free" turns into a bill

Preventive services are $0 when your provider accepts assignment. A few situations can still create a charge:

• The visit turns diagnostic. If your doctor examines or treats a new problem during your wellness visit, that part may be billed separately. Your deductible and 20% coinsurance can apply.
• A screening finds something. If a polyp is removed during a screening colonoscopy, you pay 15% of the Medicare-approved amount, plus a 15% facility share at a hospital outpatient department or surgery center.
• You go too often. Each screening has a frequency limit. A test done sooner than Medicare allows may not be covered.
• You ask for a routine physical. Original Medicare doesn't cover one, so it may be billed to you in full.

Making it work in Texas

In much of rural Texas, the nearest mammography center or endoscopy suite can be an hour or more away. A few tips:

1. Book your wellness visit first. Ask your provider for the full list of screenings you're due for, then try to schedule them on the same trip into town.
2. Plan around the heat. Fasting blood tests and long drives in a Texas summer don't mix well. Morning appointments help.
3. Bring a list of your medications, supplements, and other doctors.
4. Ask before each test whether it's billed as preventive or diagnostic.
5. Check your Medicare Summary Notice afterward. Our guide to reading your Medicare Summary Notice shows what to look for.

If you're new to Medicare, start with our turning-65 guide for Texans and the basics of what Part B covers.