When it comes to your health, there’s no such thing as starting too early. Eating whole, nutritious foods, staying active, limiting alcohol, managing stress and getting routine checkups are all part of your preventive care. Think of preventive care appointments like car maintenance. You likely bring your car in regularly for an oil check, tire rotation and break inspection to catch any issues and help keep your car running smoothly for as long as possible. Preventive care is routine health care that helps you stay on top of your health — and catch anything before it becomes serious.
Wondering what to expect at your appointment? Enter your information to see a checklist of common tests and screenings for your age and gender.
There are times when certain tests and screenings aren’t considered preventive care. Things like diagnostic care, bloodwork and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing may or may not be considered preventive.
Health plans cover preventive and diagnostic care differently. It’s important to know which services fall into each category so you can budget. Diagnostic care includes care or treatment when you already have symptoms or risk factors and your doctor wants to diagnose them. For example, if a woman finds a lump in her breast and gets a mammogram, that screening is considered a diagnostic mammogram instead of a preventive mammogram.
Labs are an important part of your health care. Labs done during or as part of your well exam, including a complete blood count (CBC) and bloodwork used to check cholesterol levels and diabetes markers are likely always going to be covered. However, other blood chemistry tests (like kidney or liver function and vitamin D or iron levels) are not considered preventive care.
Certain STI tests, like HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis are considered preventive for people at certain ages or with specific risk factors. Ask your doctor which STI tests may be covered as part of your preventive care visit.
