Snowbirds

Snowbirds and Medicare in Florida

If you split the year between Florida and another state, Original Medicare and a Medigap policy work with any doctor or hospital in the U.S. that accepts Medicare. A Medicare Advantage or Part D plan is tied to the service area around your one permanent home: away from it, Medicare Advantage covers emergencies and urgent care, and more than 6 months away in a row ends your enrollment unless the plan has a visitor or traveler program.

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

Quick answers

Does Original Medicare work in Florida and up north?: Yes. With Original Medicare you can use any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare anywhere in the U.S., including Puerto Rico. A Medigap policy pays its share wherever Original Medicare pays.
Does my Medicare Advantage plan cover me in my other state?: It covers emergency and urgently needed care anywhere in the U.S. Routine care depends on the plan: HMOs usually cover only in-network care in their service area, PPOs may pay out of network at a higher cost, and some plans have a visitor or traveler program.
What happens if I'm away from my plan's area more than 6 months?: Under 42 CFR 422.74(d)(4), a Medicare Advantage plan must disenroll you after more than 6 months in a row outside its service area, unless it offers a visitor or traveler program, which can stretch that to less than 12 months. A standalone Part D plan disenrolls you after 12 months in a row away.
Which address counts for Medicare plans?: Your permanent residence, generally your primary home. If you have two homes, a plan may ask for proof such as voter registration, driver's license, tax records or utility bills. You can use a separate mailing address, but it doesn't change where you reside.
Can I switch plans when I make Florida my permanent home?: Yes. A change in permanent residence gives you 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. A seasonal stay doesn't count as a move.

How Medicare works when you live in two places

Medicare itself is federal, so your Medicare card, your Part A and Part B, and your premiums are the same in Florida, New York, Ohio or anywhere else. What changes with your address is the private coverage you add on top: a Medicare Advantage plan, a Part D drug plan or a Medigap policy. Those rules depend on one idea, your permanent residence.

Coverage	In your other state
Original Medicare (Parts A and B)	Works with any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare, anywhere in the U.S.
Medigap	Pays its share wherever Original Medicare pays. A Medicare SELECT policy needs its network hospitals for non-emergency care.
Medicare Advantage	Emergency and urgently needed care anywhere in the U.S.; routine care depends on the plan's network and any visitor or traveler program.
Standalone Part D plan	Works at the plan's network pharmacies; out-of-network fills are only for times you can't reasonably reach one.

Which address is your permanent residence?

You can be in only one Medicare Advantage or Part D plan at a time, and you qualify for it by living in its service area. CMS's 2027 enrollment guidance says permanent residence is not a temporary move into a plan's area, and that your primary residence generally establishes it. When someone has more than one home, a plan may ask for proof such as voter registration, driver's license records, tax records or utility bills. A P.O. box doesn't count, and if there's a dispute, the plan looks to the law of your state.

So the question isn't where you are on a given day, but which home is your main one. Many snowbirds who make Florida their main home file a Declaration of Domicile with the clerk of court in their Florida county. Under Fla. Stat. 222.17 the declaration is voluntary, and a person who keeps a home in another state can swear that the Florida home is their predominant and principal home. It isn't a Medicare form, but it is the kind of evidence a plan may look at, alongside your license and voter registration.

You may use a separate seasonal mailing address with your plan, but CMS says an alternate mailing address doesn't change the residency requirement. See which state to use for Medicare if you live in Florida part-time.

Medicare Advantage: service areas and the 6-month rule

A Medicare Advantage plan's service area is usually a list of counties. In Florida, CMS lists 297 Medicare Advantage plans open to everyone for 2027, from 22 companies, but each plan serves only certain counties: from 7 plans in Monroe County to 52 in Hillsborough County. A plan sold for Florida generally doesn't cover routine care in your northern county, and a northern plan generally doesn't cover routine care in Florida.

Emergencies and urgent care are covered anywhere in the U.S. Federal rules (42 CFR 422.113) make the plan pay for emergency services in or out of network, and for urgently needed care when you're temporarily outside the service area.
Routine care away from home depends on the plan. Medicare.gov notes that HMO-style plans usually need you to use in-network providers in the plan's service area for non-emergency care, while some plans cover non-emergency care out of network at a higher cost.
More than 6 months away ends your enrollment. Under 42 CFR 422.74(d)(4), a plan must disenroll you if you're out of its service area for more than 6 months in a row. CMS guidance makes the disenrollment effective the first day of the month after the 6 months pass.
Visitor or traveler programs are the exception. A plan may offer one that keeps you enrolled while you're out of its area, within the U.S., for more than 6 but less than 12 months in a row, with the same cost sharing as at home. Plans don't have to offer one and may limit it to certain areas and providers.

One detail catches snowbirds: CMS treats you as temporarily absent if required plan mail sent by post comes back undeliverable with no forwarding address. Forward your mail or give the plan your seasonal address. Details: what happens if you're away from your plan's area more than 6 months and does Medicare Advantage cover snowbirds in Florida.

Original Medicare and Medigap go where you go

With Original Medicare you can use any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare, anywhere in the U.S., and Medicare counts Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other territories as part of the U.S. A Medigap policy pays its share of Medicare-approved costs wherever Original Medicare pays, and CMS's Medigap guide says you can generally keep your policy regardless of where you live, as long as you keep Original Medicare.

Two things to check:

Medicare SELECT: in some states you can buy a Medigap policy that requires its network hospitals (and sometimes doctors) for full benefits. Outside that network, for non-emergency care, you pay some or all of what the policy would have paid.
Where you buy: Medigap rules beyond the federal minimum come from the state where the policy is sold. If you buy in Florida, Florida's rules apply: no birthday or yearly switching rule, a 2-month window to buy without health questions after group health coverage ends (Fla. Stat. 627.6741), and 30 days to return a new policy for a full refund (Fla. Stat. 627.674). See Medigap in Florida and Medigap for snowbirds.

Weighing the two paths side by side: snowbirds: Medicare Advantage vs. Medigap.

Prescriptions in two states

You can have one Part D plan, and it's tied to your permanent residence. Florida is its own Part D region (Region 11 in CMS's 2027 Landscape file), so a Florida standalone plan's service area is Florida; CMS lists 11 standalone Part D plans for Florida in 2027. A standalone Part D plan must disenroll you only after you've been out of its area for more than 12 months in a row (42 CFR 423.44).

The real question is the pharmacy network. Federal rules (42 CFR 423.124) require plans to cover out-of-network fills only when you can't reasonably get to a network pharmacy and don't use out-of-network pharmacies routinely, so a winter of refills at an out-of-network pharmacy isn't covered. Before you choose a plan, check that it has network pharmacies near both homes, and ask about mail order and longer supplies for travel. The 2027 out-of-pocket cap of $2,400 applies wherever you fill. More: snowbird prescriptions in Florida and up north.

When you make Florida your permanent home

A seasonal stay isn't a move. Changing your permanent residence is, and it gives you a special enrollment period under 42 CFR 422.62(b) and 423.38(c): if you tell your plan before you move, your chance to switch begins the month before the move and lasts 2 full months after it. If your Medicare Advantage plan doesn't serve your new Florida county, it must end your enrollment, and if you go back to Original Medicare you have a federal right to buy certain Medigap policies without health questions, for up to 63 days after the plan coverage ends. Step by step: moving to Florida with Medicare.

Splitting time between Florida and Puerto Rico raises its own questions, such as Part B sign-up and Extra Help, which isn't available in Puerto Rico. See Medicare when you live part of the year in Florida and Puerto Rico.

Hurricane season and snowbird season overlap

The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, so many snowbirds arrive in Florida, or leave a Florida home closed up, while storms are still possible. With Original Medicare you can use any provider that accepts Medicare wherever you evacuate. If you're in a Medicare plan and live in a declared disaster area, Medicare.gov says to contact your plan for help finding a pharmacy or replacing lost medicines. See hurricanes and Medicare in Florida and our snowbird Medicare checklist.

Choosing coverage as a snowbird

Decide which home is permanent. Your plan choices come from that county, and your proof (license, voter registration, tax records) should match it.
List your doctors and pharmacies in both places. Check them against any Medicare Advantage network, or use Medicare's Care Compare to find providers who accept Medicare.
Count your months away. More than 6 in a row rules out most Medicare Advantage plans unless the plan has a visitor or traveler program that covers where you go.
Check Medigap timing. Florida has no birthday rule, so after your first Medigap open enrollment, a company may ask health questions. Choose with that in mind.
Use Open Enrollment, October 15 to December 7. For 2027 coverage, check whether your current plan still serves your county and still fits two homes. See Medicare Open Enrollment in Florida.

To compare plans from the companies they work with for your Florida county, you can request a call from a licensed insurance agent, or see plans for your ZIP code.

Sources

Every question in this guide

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep doctors in both Florida and my home state with Medicare?

With Original Medicare, yes: you can see any provider in the U.S. who accepts Medicare, in both places. With Medicare Advantage, it depends on the plan's network and service area, so check both sets of doctors before you choose a plan.

How do I change my mailing address for Medicare while I'm in Florida?

Social Security keeps Medicare's address records, so update your address in your my Social Security account or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778); railroad retirees contact the Railroad Retirement Board. Tell your Medicare Advantage, Part D or Medigap company about a seasonal mailing address too, so plan mail doesn't come back undeliverable.

Are there Medicare Advantage visitor programs for snowbirds?

Federal rules let a Medicare Advantage plan offer an optional visitor or traveler benefit that keeps you enrolled while you're out of its area, within the U.S., for more than 6 but less than 12 months in a row. Plans aren't required to offer one and may limit it to certain areas and providers, so ask the plan directly.

Do I need a Part D plan in each state?

No. You can have only one Part D plan, tied to your permanent residence. Florida is its own Part D region, so a Florida standalone plan's service area is Florida. What matters is whether its pharmacy network includes pharmacies where you spend the rest of the year.

Does Medicare cover me if I go from Florida to the Caribbean or Canada?

Usually not. Medicare rarely pays for care outside the U.S., which for Medicare includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Medigap Plans C, D, F, G, M and N pay 80% of emergency care abroad after a $250 deductible, up to a $50,000 lifetime limit.

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