Your situation

Moving to Florida with Medicare

Original Medicare works the same in Florida; you only update your address with Social Security. A Medicare Advantage or standalone Part D plan from another state almost always ends when you move your permanent home, so you get a special enrollment period that starts when you move (or the month before, if you tell your plan first) and lasts 2 full months after. Medigap usually keeps working. Medicaid and state drug programs don't transfer.

By the Benefits Life Editorial Team, licensed insurance agents · Reviewed November 14, 2026

Quick answers

Does Original Medicare change when I move to Florida?: No. Parts A and B are federal, and your Medicare number, card and coverage stay the same. Update your address with Social Security.
How long do I have to pick a new plan?: If you tell your plan before you move, your window starts the month before the move and runs 2 full months after it. If you tell it after, it starts when you move and runs 2 full months after the move.
Will my Medigap policy work in Florida?: Usually yes, with any provider in the U.S. who accepts Medicare, as long as you keep Original Medicare. Ask your company whether the move changes your premium.
Can I switch Medigap policies later in Florida?: Usually only with health questions. Florida has no birthday rule or yearly switching right. Leaving a Medicare Advantage plan because you moved, or Florida's 2-month window after group coverage ends, are the guaranteed chances.
Do Medicaid, EPIC or PAAD transfer to Florida?: No. They depend on living in the state that runs them. In Florida, apply for Medicaid or a Medicare Savings Program through ACCESS Florida; Florida has no state drug program for seniors, so Extra Help is the main drug-cost help.

What changes when I move to Florida?

Your Medicare itself doesn't change. Parts A and B are federal, and your Medicare number, card and benefits stay the same in all 67 Florida counties. What may change is the private coverage you added, because Medicare Advantage plans and standalone Part D plans serve only certain areas. Medigap usually keeps working. State programs such as Medicaid, New York's EPIC or New Jersey's PAAD don't move with you.

Coverage	What happens	What to do
Original Medicare (Parts A and B)	Keeps working the same	Update your address with Social Security
Medicare Advantage	Ends if your plan doesn't serve your new Florida county	Join a Florida plan or return to Original Medicare in your special enrollment period
Standalone Part D plan	Usually ends; Florida is its own Part D region	Join a Florida Part D plan
Medigap	Usually keeps working with any provider who accepts Medicare	Tell your company your new address; ask about the premium
Medicaid, Medicare Savings Programs, state drug programs	Don't transfer between states	Apply in Florida through ACCESS Florida; apply for Extra Help

How long do I have to change plans?

A permanent move out of your plan's service area gives you a special enrollment period for Medicare Advantage (42 CFR 422.62(b)(2)) and for Part D (42 CFR 423.38(c)(7)). You get one too if your move brings new plan choices, even if you had no plan before. Medicare.gov and CMS describe the timing this way:

If you tell your plan before you move, your chance to switch starts the month before the month you move and continues for 2 full months after you move. CMS's example: tell your plan in May that you're moving June 18, and your window runs May 1 to August 31.
If you tell your plan after you move, your chance starts when you move and continues for 2 full months after you move.
Your new plan can start up to 3 months after the month it gets your request, but not before you move.
If you don't choose a new Medicare Advantage plan, you'll be in Original Medicare when your old plan drops you.

The moving window doesn't cover Part B. If you need Part B (common for people arriving from Puerto Rico), see Part B after a move from Puerto Rico. More detail: the moving special enrollment period.

Permanent home, not a winter stay

Plans go by where you permanently live. CMS's enrollment guidance says a temporary move isn't a permanent residence, and when someone has more than one home, a plan may ask for proof such as voter registration, driver license records, tax records or utility bills. If there's a dispute, the plan looks to state law.

In Florida, you may file a Declaration of Domicile with the clerk of the circuit court in your county, a sworn statement that Florida is your home (Fla. Stat. 222.17). It's voluntary, and other ways of showing your domicile still count. People who keep a home in another state can swear that the Florida home is their "predominant and principal home." If you'll split the year between Florida and another state instead of moving, read snowbirds and Medicare.

Medicare Advantage in Florida

Most Medicare Advantage plans are local HMOs or PPOs approved county by county, and Florida is its own Medicare Advantage region. A plan you had in New York, New Jersey, Ohio or Puerto Rico almost always doesn't serve Florida, so it must end your enrollment once it confirms you've moved (42 CFR 422.74). For 2027, CMS lists 297 Medicare Advantage plans open to everyone somewhere in Florida, from 22 companies. What you can choose depends on your county: from 7 plans in Monroe County to 52 in Hillsborough County, with 49 in Palm Beach, 41 in Sarasota and 48 in Sumter. Look up your new county on the county pages.

Some companies are leaving or ending plans in parts of Florida for 2027; together at least 302,773 Floridians in regular Medicare Advantage plans must choose new coverage. If you join a Florida plan now, check that it continues next year; see plans ending in 2027. Medicare Advantage plans may offer extra benefits such as dental, vision, hearing or fitness. Extra benefits vary by plan and county, may have limits and costs, and not every plan offers them. Check a plan's Summary of Benefits or Evidence of Coverage.

Part D and state drug programs

Standalone Part D plans are approved by region, and Florida is its own Part D region (Region 11). A drug plan from another state isn't a Florida plan, even if the same company sells plans here. CMS lists 11 standalone Part D plans from 6 companies in Florida for 2027. Pick one during your moving window: going 63 days or more in a row without creditable drug coverage can add a late penalty that usually lasts as long as you have Part D. See Part D in Florida.

State drug programs end when you leave. New York's EPIC requires that your permanent home be in New York, and New Jersey says you lose PAAD and Senior Gold once you establish residency outside the state. Losing one of these programs opens its own window to join a Part D plan. Florida doesn't have a state drug-assistance program for seniors, so federal Extra Help is the main help with drug costs here. Details: moving from New York, moving from New Jersey.

Medigap after a move to Florida

A standard Medigap policy keeps working wherever you live, as long as you keep Original Medicare, and pays with any provider in the U.S. who accepts Medicare. Ask your company whether moving changes your premium.
A Medicare SELECT policy uses a network. If you move out of its area, you have a guaranteed right to buy Plan A, B, D or G (C or F if you were eligible for Medicare before 2020) sold in your state, or a SELECT policy in your new area.
Leaving Medicare Advantage because you moved gives you a federal guaranteed-issue right to buy Medigap Plan A, B, D or G (C or F if eligible before 2020) without health questions, from 60 days before your plan coverage ends to 63 days after.
Switching later in Florida usually means answering health questions. Florida has no birthday rule, anniversary rule or yearly switching right (Fla. Stat. 627.671–627.675), and a switching right from another state's law doesn't come with you.
Florida's own extra right: for 2 months after group health coverage ends, a Florida resident with Part B can buy Medigap without health questions (Fla. Stat. 627.6741(1)(a)2).
Pricing: Florida bars Medigap premiums that rise automatically with age (attained-age pricing, Fla. Stat. 627.410(6)(d)), and the Office of Insurance Regulation must approve rate changes. A new Florida policy can be returned within 30 days for a full refund (Fla. Stat. 627.674).

More: Medigap in Florida and what happens to my Medigap if I move.

Employer and union retiree coverage

Many people moving from the Northeast and Midwest have retiree coverage from a former employer or union. Federal rules give employer and union group Medicare plans some exceptions to the service-area rule, so ask the plan administrator how the coverage works in Florida before you move, and whether you could get it back if you drop it. If retiree coverage or COBRA ends, that doesn't open a Part B special enrollment period; the Part B window is tied to coverage from a current job. See moving from the Midwest and working past 65.

Moving from Puerto Rico

Part B: in Puerto Rico, Part A is automatic but Part B must be requested. Moving to Florida doesn't open a Part B sign-up window by itself; the General Enrollment Period (January 1 to March 31) or a special period, such as losing Medicaid, may apply. See Part B after a move from Puerto Rico.
Extra Help: it isn't available in Puerto Rico, but it is in Florida.
Medicare Platino: Puerto Rico's program for people with Medicare and Medicaid ends when you move, and Puerto Rico Medicaid doesn't transfer. See Medicare Platino and a move to Florida.

Florida Medicaid and help paying costs

Medicaid and Medicare Savings Programs from your old state or territory end when you leave. Apply in Florida once you live here:

Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB and QI-1) can pay your Part B premium and, at the lowest income level, Medicare cost sharing. The asset limit is $9,950 for one person and $14,910 for a couple in 2026. See Medicare Savings Programs in Florida.
Full Florida Medicaid works differently than in many states. Florida hasn't expanded Medicaid, and its MEDS-AD program doesn't cover people with Medicare unless they're in a nursing home, hospice or home and community-based services. People with Medicare usually get full Medicaid through SSI, Medically Needy (Share of Cost) or long-term care Medicaid. See Florida Medicaid and Medicare.
Extra Help with drug costs is federal; update your address with Social Security, or apply if you didn't have it before.

Apply online through ACCESS Florida (Department of Children and Families, DCF) or call DCF's customer call center at (850) 300-4323.

Finding Florida doctors

Use Medicare's Care Compare to find doctors who accept Medicare near your new home, and ask whether they take new patients. Check before you book: CMS lists about 2,900 Florida clinicians who have opted out of Medicare (September 2026), and Medicare doesn't pay them except in emergencies. Under Florida law (s. 456.056), doctors must accept Medicare's approved amount for emergency care. See finding doctors who accept Medicare in Florida.

Your moving checklist

Before you move, call your plans. Ask your Medicare Advantage or Part D plan when coverage ends, ask your Medigap company how the move affects your premium, and ask any retiree plan how it works in Florida.
Update your address with Social Security. Use your my Social Security account or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).
Check your Medicare card for Part B. If you came from Puerto Rico or delayed Part B, find out when you can sign up.
Find Florida doctors and pharmacies. Use Care Compare and confirm each office accepts Medicare and takes new patients.
Choose new coverage in your window. Join a Florida Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, or return to Original Medicare and use your Medigap guaranteed-issue right if you have one.
Keep paperwork. Save your old plan's disenrollment letter: it shows the date coverage ended, which a Medigap company may ask for.
Apply for Florida help if you need it. Medicaid or a Medicare Savings Program through ACCESS Florida, and Extra Help through Social Security.

When you're ready, see plans for your new ZIP code, or you can request a call from a licensed insurance agent to go over plans from the companies they work with. Comparing coverage types? See Medigap vs. Medicare Advantage in Florida.

Sources

Every question in this guide

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to tell Social Security when I move to Florida?

Yes. Social Security keeps Medicare's address records, so change your address in your my Social Security account or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), even if you don't get Social Security benefits. Then tell your Medicare Advantage, Part D or Medigap company.

Can I keep my Medicare Advantage plan if I move to Florida?

Only if the same plan serves your new Florida county, which is rare after a move from another state. If it doesn't, the plan must end your enrollment, and you can join a Florida plan or go back to Original Medicare during your special enrollment period.

Do I have to file a Declaration of Domicile for Medicare?

No. Medicare plans go by your permanent residence and may check records such as a driver license, voter registration, tax records or utility bills. A Florida Declaration of Domicile is a voluntary sworn statement under Fla. Stat. 222.17 that can help show Florida is your home.

Can I change plans during Open Enrollment instead?

Yes. Medicare's Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7 each year, and changes start January 1. Your moving window is separate and starts with your move, so you don't have to wait.

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