Fewer than 10% of Medicare beneficiaries receive recommended health screening and immunizations, even as Medicare increasingly is covering preventive services, according to CMS, the Wall Street Journal reports. About 5% of Medicare spending is on preventive services, but CMS in recent years has authorized more spending on screenings and immunizations amid mounting evidence about the cost effectiveness of prevention, officials say.

Herb Kuhn, CMS acting deputy administrator, said, "It is a fundamental change in the way Medicare thinks," adding, "We are trying to devote the same energy to people to stay healthy as we do to treating disease." According to the Journal, Medicare this year began covering ultrasound screenings for aortic aneurysms in at-risk beneficiaries, and over the last five years began covering glaucoma screenings, medical-nutrition therapy, cardiovascular and diabetic screenings, and smoking- and tobacco-cessation counseling.

The program also covers vaccines for flu, pneumonia and hepatitis B; mammograms; cervical and prostate cancer tests; bone-density screenings; and diabetes self-management training. In addition, since 2005, Medicare has covered an initial comprehensive physical examination for new beneficiaries. Preventive services may be fully covered by Medicare or available for a copayment, depending on the type of coverage a beneficiary has.

To increase awareness about its coverage of health screenings, Medicare officials launched a nationwide bus tour of 48 states over the summer, with stops in more than 120 cities. The tour is expected to wrap up this week (McQueen, Wall Street Journal, 8/28).