Annual Wellness Visits can be an important tool in controlling care costs among Medicare beneficiaries. Using a longitudinal sample of Medicare FFS claims from 2018 – 2023, our analysis found that AWVs are considerably underutilized, with 45 percent of beneficiaries having one or no AWVs during the six-year study period. Medicare beneficiaries who were more engaged with their AWVs (having 4 – 6 visits during the study period) had lower inpatient and emergency department spending, and a lower annual total cost of care (TCOC) trend compared to those not engaged. After adjusting for enrollee fixed effects, time effects, and other covariates, we found that beneficiaries who received an AWV were associated with an average of $885 reduction in TCOC per beneficiary per year compared to years without an AWV. Providers should consider implementation strategies that can increase member engagement with AWVs, which could lead to reductions in costs—significant in the context of population health management and value-based care contracting.
- AWVs are underutilized, 45 percent of Medicare beneficiaries had one or no AWVs from 2018 – 2023
- On average AWVs were associated with an average of $885 reduction in TCOC per beneficiary per year compared to years when they did not have an AWV.
- Providers could consider strategies to increase AWV engagement for savings opportunities.
