Before you leave for the season
Most of these steps take a phone call or a few minutes online. Do them a month or two before you travel, while you still have time to switch pharmacies or ask questions.
- Know which home is your permanent residence. Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are tied to the service area around one permanent home. CMS says that is generally your primary residence, and a plan may check voter registration, a driver's license, tax records or utility bills. See snowbirds and Medicare.
- Ask your Medicare Advantage plan how it covers you away from home. Emergency and urgently needed care are covered anywhere in the U.S. For routine care, ask whether the plan pays out of network, and whether it has a visitor or traveler program and which areas and providers it covers. Plans don't have to offer one.
- Count your months away. More than 6 months in a row outside your Medicare Advantage plan's service area ends your enrollment (42 CFR 422.74(d)(4)), unless a visitor or traveler program covers you. A standalone Part D plan allows up to 12 months. Write down your travel dates.
- Check your Part D pharmacy network in both places. Out-of-network pharmacies are covered only when you can't reasonably reach a network pharmacy, not for routine refills (42 CFR 423.124). Ask your plan for network pharmacies near your other address, whether it offers mail order to a seasonal address, and whether you can get a longer supply before you travel.
- Line up doctors where you'll be. Use Medicare's Care Compare to find doctors who accept Medicare, and confirm they're in your plan's network if you have Medicare Advantage. In Florida, Fla. Stat. 456.056 requires physicians to accept Medicare assignment for emergency care.
- Forward your mail and give your plans a seasonal address. CMS treats you as temporarily absent from your plan's area if required plan mail comes back undeliverable with no forwarding address. A separate mailing address is allowed; it doesn't change your permanent residence.
- Pack your cards and a medication list. Bring your Medicare card, any plan or Medigap card, a list of your drugs and doses, and your doctors' phone numbers.
If you're away during Open Enrollment
Many snowbirds arrive in Florida during Medicare Open Enrollment, October 15 to December 7. Your plan's Annual Notice of Change for 2027 goes to your mailing address, so make sure it reaches you. Check whether your plan still serves your county and still works for two homes. At least 302,773 Floridians in regular Medicare Advantage plans must choose new coverage because their plan is ending for 2027; see Florida plans ending in 2027 and Medicare Open Enrollment in Florida.
Hurricane season: June 1 to November 30
The Atlantic hurricane season overlaps both ends of snowbird season. If you arrive in the fall or keep medical supplies at your Florida home, plan for storms.
- Keep extra medicine on hand. If you live in a declared disaster area, Medicare.gov says your plan can help you find a network pharmacy, replace lost or damaged drugs, and fill at an out-of-network pharmacy when you can't reach a network one. Save receipts; you may have to pay up front and ask the plan to pay you back.
- Know your equipment supplier. If Original Medicare paid for equipment that is lost or damaged in a disaster, Medicare.gov says Medicare will in most cases cover repair or replacement when you get it from a Medicare-approved supplier.
- On dialysis, know your ESRD Network. Florida's is ESRD Network 7, reachable at 877-936-9260. It can help you find who to contact for treatment, supplies and transportation in an emergency. Medicare Advantage members should call their plan too.
- Consider the Florida Special Needs Registry. If you'd need help evacuating, Florida keeps a registry through each county's emergency management office (Fla. Stat. 252.355). Registering doesn't guarantee a special needs shelter space.
- If a storm makes you miss an enrollment deadline, ask about a disaster special enrollment period. When a federal, state or local government declares an emergency or disaster, people who live there and missed an election because of it may get one. Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227, TTY 1-877-486-2048).
More in hurricanes and Medicare in Florida.
Before you head back north
- Check your count again. If Florida is outside your Medicare Advantage plan's area, make sure you're back before 6 months in a row away, or before your visitor or traveler program ends.
- Move your prescriptions back. Transfer refills to a network pharmacy near your other home and refill before you leave.
- Close up your Florida mail. Set mail forwarding and update your seasonal address with your plans.
- Ask for copies of records. Request test results and visit notes from Florida doctors, so your doctors up north have them.
If you decide to make Florida your permanent home
A permanent move is different from a season. Update your address with Social Security (my Social Security or 1-800-772-1213, TTY 1-800-325-0778), which keeps Medicare's address records. If your Medicare Advantage or Part D plan doesn't serve your Florida county, you get a special enrollment period: if you tell your plan before you move, it starts the month before the move and lasts 2 full months after it. Many people also file a Declaration of Domicile with their county clerk of court (Fla. Stat. 222.17). Full guide: moving to Florida with Medicare.
To go over plans for your Florida county from the companies they work with, you can request a call from a licensed insurance agent, or see plans for your ZIP code.
Sources
- eCFR — 42 CFR 422.74, Disenrollment by the MA organization
- eCFR — 42 CFR 423.124, Out-of-network access to Part D drugs
- CMS — Medicare Advantage and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance, contract year 2027
- Medicare.gov — Compare Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage
- Medicare.gov — Care Compare
- Medicare.gov — Getting care in a disaster or emergency
- Medicare.gov — Getting drugs in a disaster or emergency
- Forum of ESRD Networks — ESRD Network contact information
- Florida Division of Emergency Management — Special Needs Registry
- Florida Statutes — s. 252.355, Registry of persons with special needs
- Florida Statutes — s. 456.056, Treatment of Medicare beneficiaries
- Florida Statutes — s. 222.17, Manifesting and evidencing domicile in Florida
- National Weather Service — Hurricane safety (season dates)
Frequently asked questions
What should snowbirds check before heading to Florida?
Check whether your Medicare Advantage plan covers routine care in Florida or only emergencies and urgent care, whether it has a visitor or traveler program, whether your Part D plan has network pharmacies near your Florida address, and that your mail will be forwarded. Original Medicare and Medigap work with any provider in the U.S. who accepts Medicare.
How long can I stay in Florida without losing my Medicare Advantage plan?
If Florida is outside your plan's service area, more than 6 months in a row away ends your enrollment under 42 CFR 422.74(d)(4), unless the plan offers a visitor or traveler program, which can extend that to less than 12 months.
Should I tell Medicare I'm in Florida for the winter?
A seasonal stay doesn't change your permanent residence. Give your plans a seasonal mailing address or forward your mail, so required plan mail isn't returned undeliverable. If you move permanently, update your address with Social Security and use your special enrollment period.
What happens to my prescriptions if a hurricane hits while I'm in Florida?
If you live in a declared disaster area, Medicare.gov says to contact your plan for help finding a network pharmacy, replacing lost or damaged drugs, or using an out-of-network pharmacy when you can't reach one in network. Keep a current medication list with you.
Medicare in your Florida county
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