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Live at the Lake half the year? Your Medicare should travel with you.
A big share of our Lake clients winter in Florida, Arizona, or Texas. Here's how Medicare actually works when you split the year between two states.
The short version
Original Medicare works in all 50 states. Any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare, in Missouri, Florida, or anywhere between, can treat you. That's the foundation.
The two-state question is really about what you pair with it:
Supplement plans: built for snowbirds
A Medicare Supplement (MediGap) plan follows Original Medicare, which means no networks, in any state. See your Lake doctor in June and your Florida doctor in January, same coverage. For people who genuinely live in two places, this is usually the cleanest fit.
Advantage plans: check the map first
Medicare Advantage plans are built around local doctor networks. Emergencies are covered anywhere in the country, but routine care away from home may cost more, or, on some plans, not be covered at all. Some plans include travel benefits; many don't. If you winter away and want an Advantage plan, the network details are exactly the fine print we read for you.
Prescriptions on the road
Part D plans work through pharmacy networks, and the national chains plus mail-order mean your medications can follow you. The trick is picking a plan whose preferred pharmacies exist in both of your zip codes, that's a five-minute check we do in every snowbird consult.
One address rules them all
Your plan options are based on your permanent residence, the address on your tax return, not where you spend the winter. If you're thinking about changing your state of residence, talk to us first: it changes which plans you can keep.
Tell us where you spend the year
Bring your two zip codes to a free consult and we'll show you exactly what travels and what doesn't.