All the Free Care That Comes With Your Health Insurance
When you enroll in health insurance, you get a ton of free care. And knowing which things you can get for free through insurance may be the push you need to pick a plan.
The Affordable Care Act requires health insurance plans to cover many preventive care services at no additional cost to the patient — all you need to do is keep paying your usual monthly premium. That means you don’t pay anything extra for this health care, not even a copay or deductible.
Free care from your doctor lets you continue doing the things you love and saving money while still taking care of your health. Read on to learn what things you can get for free through insurance.
Free preventive checkups and screenings
All adults have access to free preventive care, including annual screenings and checkups. There are more than 15 free services — valued at hundreds of dollars — that you can take advantage of to keep you healthy throughout the year. These services include:
Diabetes (Type 2) screening: for adults with overweight and obesity between the ages of 40 and 70.
Blood pressure screening: This normally costs $80 to $100 without insurance.
HIV screening: for everyone between the ages of 15 and 65, as well as other at-risk populations.
Diet counseling: for adults at an increased risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and obesity. This aims to help people prevent expensive illnesses (like heart disease) down the road by teaching healthy eating habits, food science, and the role sugar and fat have on overall health.
Cholesterol screening: for adults of certain ages or groups at higher risk. This usually costs about $100 without insurance (hello, savings!).
Alcohol misuse screening and counseling: for anyone who misuses alcohol or is in danger of misusing alcohol.
Hepatitis B and C screening: for adults with an increased risk.
Obesity screening and counseling
Colorectal cancer screening: for adults over 50. This is one of the higher-ticket items on this list, usually costing $2,000 or more without insurance.
Depression screening
Syphilis screening: for adults at increased risk.
Lung cancer screening: for adults between the ages of 55 and 80 who are at high risk for lung cancer due to smoking.
Tuberculosis screening: for a subset of at-risk adults.
Tobacco use screening: for all adults, as well as interventions to help tobacco users stop.
Wondering how you might use these free services? We have a few examples of how you can put them to use:
If you’re worried about your heart health, you can use the free cholesterol screenings, blood pressure screenings, and diet counseling.
If you want to improve your mental health, you can get a free depression screening.
If you’re interested in learning how to give up tobacco, you can get free tobacco counseling after your tobacco use screening.
Additionally, be sure to talk to your primary care doctor about which of these screenings are right (and most important) for you!
Free vaccinations
Routine preventive vaccines that are recommended by the Center for Disease Control are completely free with any Affordable Care Act plan. While the doses, recommended ages, and recommended populations vary, the free vaccines usually include:
Influenza (the flu shot)
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Herpes Zoster (shingles)
HPV
Measles
Mumps
Pneumococcal
Rubella
Tetanus
Varicella (better known as chickenpox)
Without insurance, these vaccines typically cost around $100 each. Be sure to check with your doctor about what previous vaccines you’ve had, as well as what is recommended for you specifically.
Free annual wellness visits for women
Women have access to an annual wellness visit, as well as a large range of additional free services. Here are examples of what you might want to take advantage of:
If you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant, you might want a gestational diabetes screening, a Hepatitis B screening, anemia testing, or tobacco counseling (if you need to quit).
If you’re a new mother, you might want to take advantage of the breastfeeding counseling and support benefit.
If you’re trying to avoid pregnancy, you have access to birth control at no cost. By law, your health insurance covers one generic type of birth control in each of the 18 categories. This includes the pill, the patch, IUDs, NuvaRing, and even the emergency contraceptive pill.
Other free services available specifically for women include:
Cervical cancer screening
Breast cancer screening (mammograms)
Domestic and interpersonal violence screening and counseling
Free care for children
Another thing you can get for free through insurance is a variety of free annual screenings and checkups for your kids. The exact services vary by age, but here are a few examples:
0 to 11 months old: Many of the services provided during your “well-baby” visits are covered at no cost. On average, you can expect six well-baby visits during the first year. At these visits, your doctor will make sure your baby is meeting developmental milestones in height, weight, and brain development.
1 to 4 years old: Your child will have around seven “well-child” visits over the course of the three years. Your doctor will continue to monitor your child’s growth and development as well as give your child any immunizations.
5 to 10 years old: By this time, your child may need to see the doctor for only one primary care visit per year. Your child will continue to be monitored for growth goals.
11 to 17 years old: Your child will continue having one wellness visit each year. These visits will begin to focus on physical and emotional changes. Your doctor will check in on your child’s physical development, as well as their emotional wellbeing.
Other free services available specifically to children include:
Alcohol and drug use assessments
Hearing and vision screenings
Oral health risk screenings
Sexually transmitted infection screening and counseling for adolescents at higher risk
Going beyond the ACA: More free care
Some insurance companies offer even more free or discounted benefits as part of their plans. You can find out if a plan you’re interested in on Stride offers these additional benefits by clicking the “Included for free” dropdown menu in the plan’s Details page. If you already have coverage, call your insurance company’s member services number on the back of your card to learn more about your specific plan’s additional benefits.
For most states, Open Enrollment Period — the annual time of year when anyone can enroll in a new health insurance plan or make changes to their existing coverage — starts Nov. 1 and ends Jan. 16. Your new plan's start date will depend on when you apply.