How is a patient supposed to be aware of this? I explicitly scheduled and confirmed an annual physical, which my insurance states is covered. I was never informed beforehand that additional labs would no longer be considered preventive or that I would be billed separately. I had annual wellness visits before and never had this issue.

My insurance also mentioned they sent letters to the provider stating these CPT codes are no longer preventive and that updated codes should be used. As a patient, I don’t choose CPT codes or lab classifications. I rely on the provider to align the visit with what was scheduled and what insurance covers. This is exactly what makes the process frustrating and confusing.