Well-Woman Visit in United States

United States

Annual health exams provide an opportunity for women to access preventive services such as vaccines and screening tests, which can help identify cancers and other conditions earlier on when they are easier to treat. Well-woman visits are also a good place to discuss strategies to minimize health risks and achieve a healthy lifestyle. Annual well-woman visits are recommended even if not all aspects of the visit are performed each year. 

Based on age and risk, annual assessments should include:

• Screenings for disease.
• Health and family history review.
• Discussion of reproductive health.
• Counseling and health education.

Screening for health risks such as smoking and alcohol abuse through preventive services like patient counseling and education has proven to be a cost-effective way of improving health.

According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the prevalence of well-woman visits in the past year is higher among: 

• Black women compared with American Indian/Alaska Native women.
• Women who are college graduates compared with women with less than a high school education. 
• Women with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more compared with women with incomes less than $75,000.
• Straight women compared with LGBQ+ women.
• Women who have served in the U.S. armed forces compared with those who have not served.
• Insured women compared with uninsured women.

With its passage in 2010, the Affordable Care Act made it mandatory for insurance policies to cover certain preventive health care services at no cost, including at least one well-woman visit per year.

In 2022, the White House published a blueprint for addressing the U.S. maternal health crisis. The blueprint recommends ensuring that postpartum women have comprehensive health insurance coverage for 12 months after the pregnancy.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists offers recommendations for screening, evaluating, counseling and immunizations for women of different age groups.

The Women’s Preventive Services Initiative provides guidelines on evidence-based services and recommendations for women’s preventive visits.

Maciosek, Michael V., Ashley B. Coffield, Thomas J. Flottemesch, Nichol M. Edwards, and Leif I. Solberg. “Greater Use Of Preventive Services In U.S. Health Care Could Save Lives At Little Or No Cost.” Health Affairs 29, no. 9 (September 2010): 1656–60. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2008.0701.

Witkop, Catherine, and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee on Gynecologic Practice. “ACOG Committee Opinion No. 755: Well-Woman Visit.” Obstetrics & Gynecology 132, no. 4 (October 2018): e181–86. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000002897.