WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today announced that he is introducing two legislative proposals that would improve Medicare’s efforts to support preventive healthcare, encouraging seniors and their physicians to work together and confront health issues before they become more serious. One bill, the Wellness and Education for Longer Lives (WELL) for Seniors Act, would improve the Annual Wellness Visit – a medical appointment currently covered by Medicare free of cost – by incorporating additional preventive screenings to identify potential risk factors for serious illnesses or injuries associated with social determinants of health. The second bill, the Medicare Preventive Home Visits Act, would create a new Medicare home visit benefit to identify in-home prevention interventions.

“The coronavirus pandemic has reinforced the importance of addressing health problems before they get serious,” said Senator King. “These lessons should inform our work moving forward, including a stronger emphasis on preventive medicine. Each of these bills would strengthen support for the health of our seniors, while also empowering them to remain at home and living the day-to-day life they have chosen for themselves.  Preventive care will reduce overall healthcare spending by catching problems early to better nip them in the bud, and helping our seniors age in place will enrich our communities – it’s a win-win.”

In addition to improving the work of the Annual Wellness Visit, the WELL for Seniors Act also improves awareness of the Annual Wellness Visit among Medicare recipients, which is currently only utilized by 16 percent of eligible Medicare beneficiaries. The United States spends over $3.3 trillion each year on healthcare, and avoidable chronic diseases account for 75 percent of this spending, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Medicare Preventive Home Visits Act would specifically cover situations in which a qualified healthcare professional visits a beneficiary’s home to assess the home environment of the beneficiary, identify health risks, and provide referrals for interventions or home modifications to improve physical activity, fall prevention, and nutrition for the beneficiary. Under the bill, qualified professionals would be permitted to visit a beneficiary’s home a maximum of once every two years.

Senator King is a champion for affordable, accessible healthcare – including advocating for the advantages and financial benefits of proactive and preventive care. He has introduced the Primary and Behavioral Health Care Access Act, which would require private insurance plans to cover three annual primary care visits and three annual outpatient mental health or outpatient substance use disorder treatment visits, without charging a copayment, coinsurance, or deductible-related fee. Last year, Senator King convened and led a nationally-televised roundtable with Maine healthcare providers and experts from the Bipartisan Policy Center on the benefits and future of telehealth for Maine and across the nation’s rural areas. In October 2019, Senator King hosted a prevention-focused panel discussion in Bangor with local healthcare providers and public wellness experts on the best ways to use prevention strategies to improve health outcomes and reduce costs. In November 2019, Senator King introduced the Primary Care Patient Protection Act to allow consumers enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHP) to be covered for two yearly visits to primary care physicians. In May 2019, Senator King introduced the Preventive Health Savings Act, which would direct the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to more accurately reflect the cost-savings of preventive healthcare, including health screenings.