Welcome to Medicare will include end-of-life planning

Why This Topic Matters

The article highlights policy updates that can affect visit content, preventive service planning, and Medicare billing workflow for new enrollees. It also points readers to the federal criteria used when evaluating future services for inclusion in the visit.

Article Sections

1. Policy change for the Welcome to Medicare visit

   Explains the Medicare law changes affecting the preventive visit and the broader context for the update. It also notes how the visit has evolved since its introduction.

2. End-of-life planning and advance directives

   Describes the new counseling topic added to the visit and the general policy rationale discussed by the article. It includes perspectives on patient communication and advance care planning.

3. Types of services that could be added

   Summarizes how CMS may evaluate additional preventive services for inclusion in the visit. It references federal preventive-service grading criteria and examples of service categories under consideration.