Question So I'm 65 and on medicare which will not cover a physical. What do older divers do for the required physical? How extensive should it be?

[rx7diver]

At age 65 you should be on Medicare ...

If you're still working (i.e., not yet retired), and your medical/heath insurance is tied to your employer, you might not be.

If you're retired from the U.S. military and on TRICARE, you might (?) not be.

(More?)

rx7diver

 

[boulderjohn]

If you're still working (i.e., not yet retired), and your medical/heath insurance is tied to your employer, you might not be.

His opening post says he is on Medicare, and he says it does not pay for physicals, which is what many people are confused about.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

His opening post says he is on Medicare, and he says it does not pay for physicals, which is what many people are confused about.

If you just Google......."does medicare cover annual physicals"........the Medicare.gov website states that Medicare does not cover annual physicals.

 

[boulderjohn]

If you just Google......."does medicare cover annual physicals"........the Medicare.gov website states that Medicare does not cover annual physicals.

So I have to wonder why my Medicare plan does.

Here is more information:

Does Medicare pay for a yearly physical examination?

No. However, Medicare does cover an annual wellness visit. An annual wellness visit is not a physical, but includes a review of your basic health.

www.aarp.org

 

[rongoodman]

So I have to wonder why my Medicare plan does.

Do you have a Medicare Advantage plan? Mine includes a yearly physical.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

I’d say your age is reason enough, let alone your smoking history. Many diving related fatalities turn out to be sudden cardiac death amongst us older divers.

Concordantly, many non-diving fatalities turn out to be sudden cardiac death amongst ... older non-divers.

 

[jonhall]

Original Medicare covers an annual wellness check for me. My doctor happens to do everything he did for my annual physical (including the awful prostrate check!!!!!) meaning he also does a physical exam - which is not supposed to be included in a wellness check.

A wellness check is covered by Medicare - a physical is not. Off the top of my head, in the last 3 years I have paid ~$180, $80, and $120 for these visits. These are discounted amounts based on what Medicare allows for a procedure/test. My first visit included a shingles or pneumonia shot that wasn't covered by Medicare - that's why the higher $$. As mentioned in an earlier post, how a doctor is able to come up with a reason to have a procedure performed and then to code that procedure will determine what gets covered by Medicare.

To the OP, if you're rec diving, you just have to indicate that you don't have any physical problems. If you tell the dive op you do, you may then have to have a statement from your doctor clearing you to dive. My buddy who had a heart attack several years ago has no restrictions but carries a statement when we travel, just in case.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I believe there is a distinct difference between and annual physical exam and an annual wellness exam. Also, in today's' litigious society, no doctor in their right mind would ever certify in writing that a person is deemed fit for diving.... What they will state is something similar to what my doctor provides whenever I dive with an operation that asks for a "doctor letter"...... Mine states exactly as follows........ and is signed and on his letterhead

To Whom It May Concern, _______________________ is under my care. He is in overall good health and he has no known contraindications to participating in recreational scuba diving. Please contact my office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

 

[lowflyer]

As a physician (retired) I see no difference between stating that, "a person is deemed fit for diving" and, "he has no known contraindications to participating in recreational scuba diving" I suspect that lawyers would treat the two statements the same.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I still believe there's a difference between a doctor certifying that someone is fit to dive vs simply stating that they are unaware of any reason why they shouldn't dive.

I guess the relevance to this thread is that a full physical exam might reveal a condition that a basic "wellness" exam would not..