What happens to my Medicare if I move to another state?

Does Original Medicare work in another state?

Yes. With Original Medicare (Part A and Part B), you can go to any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare, anywhere in the U.S. If you also have a separate Medicare drug plan (Part D) or a Medigap policy, check the sections below, because those follow different rules.

What happens to my Medicare Advantage plan if I move?

A Medicare Advantage Plan has a service area: the area you must live in for the plan to accept you as a member. For plans that limit which doctors and hospitals you may use, it's also generally the area where you can get routine (non-emergency) services. Plans can, and in some cases must, disenroll you if you move outside their service area. When you move out of your plan's service area, you have a Special Enrollment Period to make changes:

• Switch to a new Medicare Advantage Plan (with or without drug coverage) or a Medicare drug plan in your new area.
• Go back to Original Medicare. If you don't join a new Medicare Advantage Plan during this Special Enrollment Period, you'll be enrolled in Original Medicare when you're dropped from your old plan.
• Timing: your chance to switch begins when you move and continues for 2 full months after you move. If you tell your plan before you move, it begins the month before the month you move.
• The same Special Enrollment Period applies if you move to a new address that's still in your plan's service area but you have new plan options there.

What happens to my Medicare drug plan if I move?

Medicare drug plans (Part D) also have service areas, and you must live in the service area of the plan you want to join. Moving out of your drug plan's service area gives you the same Special Enrollment Period to switch to a new Medicare drug plan or a Medicare Advantage Plan with drug coverage, from your move until 2 full months after.

Your old drug coverage ends when your new drug coverage begins, so you don't need to cancel your old plan when you join a new one. If you go 63 days or more in a row without Medicare drug coverage or other creditable prescription drug coverage, you'll have to wait for an enrollment period to get coverage and may pay a Part D late enrollment penalty. See Can I change my Medicare plan, and when?.

Can I keep my Medigap policy if I move to another state?

Yes. You can keep your current Medigap (Medicare Supplement Insurance) policy no matter where you live, as long as you still have Original Medicare. A Medicare SELECT policy, which requires you to use hospitals (and in some cases doctors) in its network, has its own rules, described below. If you want to switch to a different Medigap policy after a move, check with the Medigap insurance company; outside your Medigap Open Enrollment Period you may pay more and have to answer medical questions.

Two moves give you a guaranteed issue right to buy a Medigap policy, meaning the insurance company must sell you a policy, must cover your pre-existing conditions and can't charge you more because of past or present health problems:

• Moving out of a Medicare SELECT policy's service area: you can buy Medigap Plan A, B, C, D, F or G sold in your state or the state you're moving to. You must apply either 60 days before or no more than 63 days after your Medicare SELECT coverage ends. You can also buy a standardized Medigap policy from your current insurance company if it offers the same (or fewer) benefits, without medical questions if you've had the SELECT policy for more than 6 months.
• Moving out of a Medicare Advantage Plan's service area: if you switch to Original Medicare rather than join another Medicare Advantage Plan, you can buy Medigap Plan A, B, C, D, F or G sold in your state. Apply 60 days before your Medicare Advantage coverage ends (if you're choosing to leave the plan) or no more than 63 days after it ends; the Medigap policy can't start until the Medicare Advantage coverage ends.
• Plans C and F are no longer available to people new to Medicare on or after January 1, 2020; those people can buy Plan D or G instead. Your state may give you more rights, so check with your State Insurance Department.

How do I change my address with Medicare?

Contact Social Security to change your official address with Medicare, for example by updating your information in your my Social Security account. Medicare works with Social Security to keep your records, so you contact Social Security even if you have Medicare but don't get Social Security benefits. If you get Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) benefits, change your address with the RRB. To update other personal information, like your phone number or email address, log into your secure Medicare account.

Do other moves open a Special Enrollment Period?

Yes. Medicare.gov lists other changes in where you live that let you join or change Medicare Advantage and Medicare drug plans outside the usual enrollment periods. See What are the Medicare enrollment periods?.

• Moving back to the U.S. after living outside the country: you can join a Medicare Advantage Plan or Medicare drug plan for 2 full months after the month you move back.
• Living in, or recently moving out of, an institution like a nursing home or rehabilitation hospital: you can join, switch or drop a plan for as long as you live there and for 2 full months after the month you move out.