Moving? Here’s What Happens to Your Medicare Coverage
By Daniel Petkevich
Jul 15, 2025
An overview of the important details for moving while on Medicare.
1. Original Medicare Travels With You
Speak with a Medicare Advocate
Parts A & B are federal, so your hospital and outpatient benefits stay the same no matter where you live. Just give Social Security your new address after the boxes are unpacked.
2. Medicare Advantage & Part D Are ZIP-Code Specific
Leave the service area and you trigger a Special Enrollment Period (SEP).
Tell your plan before the move? Your SEP runs from one month before through two months after you relocate.
Tell them after? You still get two full months from the day you notify the plan.
During the SEP you can:
Switch to a new local Medicare Advantage or Part D plan.
Return to Original Medicare and, if you want drug coverage, pick a stand-alone Part D plan.
3. Medigap Has Its Own Rules
Moving within the U.S. usually means you can keep your Medigap policy—just update your address.
Move outside your plan’s coverage area (rare, but happens with some state-based or select-issue policies) and you earn a guaranteed-issue right to buy a different Medigap plan without medical underwriting.
A few states (e.g., New York, Connecticut) let you switch Medigap letters any time of year; others don’t. Check state rules before you cancel anything.
4. Three Steps Before You Hand Over the Keys
Run new-ZIP quotes. Medicare Advantage premiums and drug formularies can swing wildly from one county to the next.
Verify networks. Your favorite doctors and hospitals may be out-of-network in the new plan—or totally out of reach if you stick with the old one.
Line up coverage dates. Aim for zero gaps by submitting your new application as soon as your SEP opens.
5. Snowbird or Short-Term Move?
If you’ll be gone for a season but keep your official residence, you generally stay in the same plan. Keep an eye on coverage for non-emergency care while you’re away—Original Medicare plus Medigap usually works nationwide; many HMO-style Advantage plans do not.
Bottom line: Original Medicare follows you, but Medicare Advantage and Part D plans don’t. Use the built-in Special Enrollment Period to pick coverage tailored to your new ZIP, and review Medigap rights if a move takes you outside your current policy’s territory.
Need Help Picking New Coverage?
Our licensed Medicare advocates can pull every plan in your new county and walk you through the fine print—free of charge. Call 888-376-2028 today.
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