Medicare 2026

Medicare for Snowbirds: How Your Coverage Travels When You Split the Year Between Two States

If you spend part of the year in one place and part in another, Medicare can absolutely come with you — but the details depend on which kind of coverage you have. Some pieces of Medicare travel almost without thinking about them. Others have rules about networks, service areas, and how long you can be away before your plan has to drop you. Here is a plain-English guide to how coverage behaves for people who live a snowbird lifestyle, and the questions worth asking before you pack the car.

Original Medicare travels with you

With Original Medicare (Part A and Part B), you can use any doctor, hospital, or other provider in the country that accepts Medicare. Medicare makes clear that this holds true even when you have to leave your city or state. For many people who split the year between two homes, that nationwide access is the single biggest reason Original Medicare feels simple on the road.

If you also have a Medigap (Medicare Supplement) policy, you can generally keep it no matter where you live in the U.S., as long as you still have Original Medicare. The policy itself doesn't change when you cross a state line.

Medicare Advantage: networks and service areas matter

Medicare Advantage plans (Part C) are offered by private insurers and typically operate within a defined service area. Many require you to use in-network doctors and hospitals for non-emergency care. Some plans offer out-of-network coverage for non-emergency care at a higher cost; others don't.

In a Medicare Advantage HMO, you generally must use the plan's network, with these exceptions:

• Emergency care
• Out-of-area urgent care
• Temporary out-of-area dialysis

That means a routine checkup, a specialist visit, or a planned procedure at your second home may not be covered the way it would be back in your plan's service area. Call your plan before you travel to understand what counts as "urgent" versus "routine," and what your costs would be.

The 6-month rule for Medicare Advantage

Federal rules require a Medicare Advantage plan to disenroll a member who has not moved but has been away from the plan's service area for more than 6 consecutive months. The disenrollment is effective the first day of the month after those 6 months pass. The exception is a plan that offers a visitor or traveler option.

Plans are not required to offer a visitor/traveler benefit. When a plan does offer one, it may let you stay enrolled while you are out of the service area but still within the U.S. for more than 6 months and up to 12 months. Past 12 consecutive months away, the plan must disenroll you. Plans may also limit the visitor option to certain areas and certain providers, so the details vary from plan to plan.

One quiet way plans learn you're gone: if required plan mail is returned by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable with no forwarding address, the plan may treat you as temporarily absent from the service area. Keeping your mailing address current with the plan — and with Social Security and Medicare — matters.

Stand-alone Part D drug plans

If you have a stand-alone Part D plan (common with Original Medicare), the plan must disenroll a member who has been away from the plan's service area for more than 12 consecutive months, effective the first day of the 13th month. Within that window, you can usually still fill prescriptions through the plan's national pharmacy network, but out-of-network pharmacy pricing can be much higher. Check whether your regular pharmacy chain is in-network at both homes.

A few program-level facts worth knowing for 2027: the Part D out-of-pocket cap is $2,400 (it is $2,100 in 2026), the most any Part D plan may charge as a deductible is $700, and the national base beneficiary premium used to calculate the late-enrollment penalty is $41.33. Actual plan premiums are set plan by plan.

The 2027 Part B standard premium and deductible, and the 2027 IRMAA income brackets, had not been announced at the time of writing; CMS typically announces them in the fall. Social Security announced a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment for benefits payable beginning January 2027.

Comparing the trade-offs — neutrally

Neither path is "better" for snowbirds in general; they involve different trade-offs.

• Original Medicare + (often) a Medigap policy + a stand-alone Part D plan: nationwide access to providers who accept Medicare, Medigap travels with you, but you pay separate premiums and Original Medicare doesn't cap your Part A/B cost-sharing by itself.
• Medicare Advantage: often bundles drug coverage and may include extra benefits, but networks, service areas, and the 6-month away rule can complicate long stays elsewhere.

Weigh how many months you're away, whether you need routine (not just emergency) care at your second home, and whether a plan you are considering offers a visitor/traveler option.

When you can make changes

The Annual Enrollment Period (also called Open Enrollment) runs October 15 – December 7, 2026 for 2027 coverage, with changes effective January 1, 2027.

If you have Medicaid or Extra Help, since 2025 you have a monthly Special Enrollment Period to move to Original Medicare with a stand-alone Part D plan, or to switch stand-alone Part D plans. Full-benefit dual-eligible individuals can join an integrated D-SNP in any month.

Where to confirm the details

Snowbird rules reward a quick phone call before travel. For official information and plan-by-plan details, visit Medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), TTY 1-877-486-2048. Ask specifically about your plan's service area, visitor/traveler option, and how out-of-area care would be covered.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not affiliated with any government agency.