Moving to Another State on Medicare: What Follows You, What Doesn't, and Your Deadlines
Original Medicare goes with you. Move from Ohio to Sarasota and your Part A and Part B work exactly the same the day you arrive, at any doctor or hospital in the U.S. that takes Medicare. Medicare Advantage and Part D plans don't. They're tied to a service area, and a permanent move out of that area ends your membership whether you do anything or not.
What a move gives you is a Special Enrollment Period: a window to pick new coverage where you now live. It starts on the date you move (or the first of the month before, if you tell your plan ahead of time) and ends two full months after the month you move. Miss it, and the old plan still drops you. You land in Original Medicare, and if your drug coverage was built into that plan, you have none.
I've written this with Florida as the destination, but the federal rules are the same for a move to Arizona or back to Pennsylvania.
Source: CMS, Medicare Monthly Enrollment, Florida (June 2026, latest month); U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Medicare Advantage share computed from CMS counts; "other" includes cost plans and PACE.
What follows you and what doesn't
Medicare itself is national. The plans that private companies run under contract with Medicare are local, and the programs that help pay Medicare costs are run by each state, so they stop at the state line.
| Coverage | After a permanent move | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Original Medicare (Parts A and B) | Works the same anywhere in the U.S. | Update your address with Social Security |
| Medicare Advantage plan | Tied to a service area; a permanent move out means disenrollment | Pick a plan at your new address, or go to Original Medicare, during the moving Special Enrollment Period |
| Stand-alone Part D drug plan | Tied to its service region; a move outside it means disenrollment | Join a drug plan where you now live during the same Special Enrollment Period |
| Medigap (Medicare Supplement) | In general you can keep it as long as you have Original Medicare | Ask your insurer whether your premium changes at your new address |
| Medicare SELECT (a Medigap policy with a network) | Network is local; moving out of its area gives a guaranteed issue right | Switch within 60 days before to 63 days after the policy ends |
| Medicaid and Medicare Savings Programs | Run by each state; benefits don't transfer | Apply again in your new state (in Florida, through DCF) |
| Extra Help (Part D Low-Income Subsidy) | Federal; usually not affected by a move | Apply on your own if you got it automatically through Medicaid or an MSP you lose |
Source: Medicare & You 2027; CMS, Choosing a Medigap Policy (March 2026); CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance, CY 2027, sec. 30.6.20; Florida DCF, ACCESS FAQ; SHIP Technical Assistance Center, Medicare and changes of residence.
To join a Medicare Advantage plan you must live in its service area. Under 42 CFR 422.74, once a plan establishes from your written statement or other evidence that you've permanently moved out, it must disenroll you; drug plans follow the same rule under 42 CFR 423.44. (A few local plans have CMS-approved continuation areas that let a member stay after moving into them. Rare; ask.)
"Permanently" matters. CMS defines permanent residence as "the enrollee's primary residence, not necessarily the individual's mailing address." If you have more than one home, a plan can ask for voter registration, driver's license, tax records or utility bills, and a P.O. box alone isn't enough. My read: get your Florida driver's license and voter registration done before you shop, so the paperwork matches what you tell the plan.
The moving Special Enrollment Period
The right to change plans after a move comes from 42 CFR 422.62(b)(2) for Medicare Advantage and 42 CFR 423.38(c)(7) for Part D. It covers two situations: you moved out of your plan's area, or your permanent move gives you new plan options. The second one matters if you have Original Medicare with no drug plan; the move lets you join one.
The regulation doesn't set the dates. CMS's enrollment guidance for contract year 2027 does:
- Start: the date you move. If you tell your plan before you move, the window opens on the first day of the month before the month you move.
- End: two months after the month it begins, or two months after the month of the move, whichever is later.
- Start date of new coverage: you can choose a date up to three months after the month the new plan gets your request, but not before you've moved and the plan has the request. You'll need to give the plan the address where you'll permanently live.
Medicare.gov puts it as "2 full months after you move." In that window you can join a Medicare Advantage plan (with or without drug coverage), join a drug plan, or go back to Original Medicare.
CMS's own example is a Florida case going the other way. A member tells their Florida Medicare Advantage plan in May that they're moving to Arizona on June 18. The window runs May 1 to August 31. If an Arizona plan gets the request in June, coverage can start July 1, August 1 or September 1.
A worked example: moving to Sarasota
Example (hypothetical): Say you live in Ohio with a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage. In October 2026 you call the plan and tell it you're moving to a house in Sarasota on November 14, 2026. Here's how the federal rules line up.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 | Your Special Enrollment Period starts (first day of the month before the move, because you told the plan in advance) |
| Oct 15 to Dec 7, 2026 | Fall Open Enrollment for 2027 coverage runs at the same time; it's a separate window |
| Nov 14, 2026 | Moving day. Had you not called ahead, your Special Enrollment Period would start today instead |
| Nov 2026 | A Florida plan that gets your request this month can start coverage Dec 1, 2026, Jan 1 or Feb 1, 2027 |
| Dec 1, 2026 | Disenrollment from the Ohio plan takes effect (first of the month after the month you said you'd move). With no new plan chosen, you're in Original Medicare, with no drug coverage |
| Jan 31, 2027 | Last day of the Special Enrollment Period (two full months after the November move) |
Source: dates worked out from Medicare.gov, Special Enrollment Periods and CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance, CY 2027, sec. 30.6.20 (start, end, effective dates and disenrollment date; the CY 2027 guidance applies to effective dates on or after January 1, 2027); CMS 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D landscape fact sheet (Open Enrollment dates). Illustration only.
To avoid a gap, get the Florida plan your request in October or November (after you've told the Ohio plan) and choose a December 1 start, the day the Ohio disenrollment takes effect. A request that arrives in December can't start before January 1. Fall Open Enrollment overlaps the move but doesn't replace the moving window, which stays open until January 31, 2027.
Skip the advance call and the end date is the same. What changes is when the old plan ends: the first of the month after you've both moved and told the plan. A late call can leave you in a plan whose network is back in Ohio.
What happens if you do nothing
Plans find out. When a plan gets a change-of-address notice or a sign you've left (from you, CMS, out-of-area claims or returned mail), it has 10 calendar days to try to reach you and confirm where you live, and it sends a disenrollment notice within 10 days of confirming a permanent move.
The regulation is blunt: someone who doesn't choose another plan during the Special Enrollment Period "is deemed to have elected original Medicare." Parts A and B keep working. Anything the plan bundled in, including drug coverage, is gone.
That gap has a cost. Per Medicare & You 2027, 63 or more days in a row without Medicare drug coverage or other creditable drug coverage can trigger the Part D late enrollment penalty, added to your premium for as long as you have Medicare drug coverage, generally. Original Medicare doesn't include drugs; you'd join a separate drug plan. See our Medicare Part D in Florida page.
Temporary stay or permanent move?
Not every trip south is a move. A temporary absence has its own clock, and it's measured in consecutive months outside the service area.
| Coverage | How long you can be away (inside the U.S.) | What happens after that |
|---|---|---|
| Original Medicare | No limit | Nothing; it works anywhere in the U.S. |
| Medigap | No limit while you keep Original Medicare | Nothing, though a Medicare SELECT policy has its own network area |
| Medicare Advantage | More than 6 months: the plan must disenroll you | Disenrolled into Original Medicare unless you choose another plan |
| Medicare Advantage with a visitor/traveler program | More than 6 but less than 12 consecutive months (optional for plans) | Disenrolled when the allowed absence ends |
| Stand-alone Part D plan | More than 12 consecutive months: the plan must disenroll you | Disenrolled on the first day of the 13th month |
Source: 42 CFR 422.74(d)(4); 42 CFR 423.44(d)(5); CMS, Choosing a Medigap Policy (March 2026).
Visitor/traveler programs are optional, and plans may limit them to certain areas; ask yours in writing before you leave.
The real question is where you live. Keep the house in Michigan and spend January through March in Naples, and you're a snowbird (our Medicare for snowbirds post covers that). Sell the Michigan house, register to vote in Collier County and switch your driver's license, and you've moved. A winter address doesn't make you eligible for a Florida plan.
Medigap after a move
With Original Medicare and Medigap, the move is simpler. CMS's Medigap guide says that in general you can keep your policy regardless of where you live, as long as you still have Original Medicare. Cost is another matter: the guide says Medigap prices "can vary widely depending on the insurance company, the plan, and where you live." Give your insurer the new address and ask whether your premium changes.
Want a different policy? Outside your Medigap Open Enrollment Period the insurer can ask health questions and doesn't have to sell you one, unless you have a guaranteed issue right. Two are about moving.
| Situation | Your right | When to apply |
|---|---|---|
| You had Medicare Advantage, moved out of its service area, and are switching to Original Medicare | Buy Medigap Plan A, B, C*, D*, F* or G* sold by an insurance company in your state | Up to 60 days before your Medicare Advantage coverage ends (or by the date in the termination notice), and no later than 63 days after it ends |
| You have a Medicare SELECT policy and moved out of its service area | Buy Plan A, B, C*, D*, F* or G* sold in your state or the state you're moving to | Up to 60 days before the SELECT policy ends, and no later than 63 days after |
Source: CMS, Choosing a Medigap Policy (March 2026), guaranteed issue rights. *Plans C and F are only for people who became eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020; people new to Medicare on or after that date can buy Plan D or G instead.
Two catches. The Medigap policy can't start until your Medicare Advantage coverage ends, and the right applies only if you go back to Original Medicare rather than another Medicare Advantage plan. Keep the letters, notices and emails showing when coverage ended, plus the postmarked envelope, as proof. In the Sarasota example, the window opens about 60 days before December 1. Apply as soon as the Florida insurer will take your application (ask whether it needs you to live in Florida first), and by late November if you want the policy to start December 1 with no gap.
What Florida law adds, and what it doesn't
Florida's rule F.A.C. 69O-156.0095 lists as an eligible person someone in a Medicare Advantage plan who "is no longer eligible to elect the plan because of a change in the individual's place of residence," with the same 60-days-before, 63-days-after timing. Its plan-letter list predates 2020 and differs from CMS's current guide, so confirm the letters with SHINE before you apply.
What Florida doesn't do: Fla. Stat. 627.6741 gives a Florida resident a 6-month open enrollment window that begins with the first month the person is 65 or older and enrolled in Part B. It's tied to when you started Part B, not when you arrived. Moving here at 72 doesn't reopen it, and I don't see a separate Florida right to buy Medigap just because you moved in. Leaving Florida, a Florida Medigap policy can be canceled or nonrenewed only for nonpayment or material misrepresentation, so the move itself isn't grounds. More in Florida's Medigap rules and on our Medicare Supplement (Medigap) in Florida page.
Medicaid, Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help
If you get help paying Medicare costs, this is where a move hurts most, because the help usually comes from your old state. Florida's Department of Children and Families answers the question directly: "If I have benefits in another state, can I transfer them? No. benefits cannot be transferred from state to state. You need to apply in the state where you are living."
- Medicaid: apply in Florida. Federal rules (42 CFR 435.403) make the state where you live and intend to stay your state of residence, and a state can't deny Medicaid because you haven't lived there long enough.
- Medicare Savings Programs: run by your state, per Medicare.gov. The SHIP Technical Assistance Center says an MSP will not follow you to another state.
- Extra Help with drug costs: it's federal, so a move usually doesn't change it. But if you got it automatically because of Medicaid or an MSP and you lose that in the move, you'll need to apply for Extra Help yourself to keep it.
In Florida, the quickest way to apply is online at MyACCESS; you can also go through a DCF community partner or service center, or call DCF at 1-850-300-4323. Apply as soon as you've moved. Florida's rules are in Medicare Savings Programs in Florida and Florida Medicaid and Medicare. One help: people with Medicaid or Extra Help can change drug coverage once per calendar month, effective the first of the next month.
Change your address the right way
Medicare.gov: "To change your official address with Medicare, you have to contact Social Security." That's true even if you don't get Social Security benefits.
- Online: log in to my Social Security, open the My Profile tab, select Contact, choose when the change should take effect, and submit. This isn't available if you get SSI or don't have a U.S. mailing address.
- By phone: 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), or visit a Social Security office.
- Railroad Retirement Board benefits: change your address with the RRB at RRB.gov instead.
Then tell your plan directly, in writing, with the move date; the advance notice that opens the window a month early is notice to the plan, not to Social Security. And set up mail forwarding: plan mail returned with no forwarding address is treated as a sign you're away.
Moving checklist
| When | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| As soon as you know the date | Tell your Medicare Advantage or drug plan, in writing, the date you're moving | Opens the Special Enrollment Period the month before the move |
| Before the move | Change your address with Social Security (or the RRB) | That's Medicare's official address |
| Before the move | If you get Medicaid or an MSP, plan to apply in Florida right after you arrive | State benefits don't transfer |
| Before the move | If you have Medigap, call the insurer about the new address and premium | Price can vary by where you live |
| Right after you move | Get your Florida driver's license and voter registration | Proof of permanent residence if a plan asks |
| Within the window | Choose a plan at your new address, or Original Medicare plus a drug plan | Window ends two full months after the month you move |
| 60 days before to 63 days after your plan ends | If you're going to Original Medicare, apply for Medigap under your guaranteed issue right | No health questions inside that window |
Source: CMS Medicare Advantage and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance, CY 2027, sec. 30.6.20; Medicare.gov, Special Enrollment Periods; Medicare.gov, Change your address; CMS, Choosing a Medigap Policy (March 2026); Florida DCF.
Florida's Medicare population, for scale
Florida had 5,334,437 people on Medicare in June 2026, second only to California. Between 2013 and 2025 the state added 1,489,416 beneficiaries, a 39.7% increase, and the mix flipped: about 36% were in Medicare Advantage and other plans in 2013, 57.1% by June 2026. More than half of Florida's Medicare enrollees now have coverage tied to a service area.
- Medicare Advantage & other plans
- Original Medicare
Source: CMS, Medicare Monthly Enrollment, Florida (annual rows)
Show the numbers
| Medicare Advantage & other plans | Original Medicare | |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.4M | 2.4M |
| 2016 | 1.7M | 2.5M |
| 2019 | 2.1M | 2.5M |
| 2022 | 2.6M | 2.3M |
| 2025 | 3.0M | 2.3M |
Where to get unbiased help
SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) is Florida's State Health Insurance Assistance Program, run by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and local Area Agencies on Aging. Its trained volunteers give one-on-one Medicare and Medicaid counseling that SHINE describes as free, unbiased and confidential. Call 1-800-963-5337 (TTY 1-800-955-8770). If you're still in your old state, its SHIP can help with the leaving side; find it at shiphelp.org.
Medicare is at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227, TTY 1-877-486-2048). Use your new permanent address on the Medicare.gov plan finder. For the basics here, see our Medicare in Florida page.
Common questions about moving on Medicare
Does Medicare transfer when you move to another state?
Original Medicare (Parts A and B) works the same anywhere in the U.S., so there's nothing to transfer; you only update your address with Social Security. Medicare Advantage and Part D plans are tied to a service area, so a permanent move out of that area means choosing new coverage.
How long do I have to change Medicare plans after moving?
The Special Enrollment Period starts on the date you move, or on the first day of the month before the move if you tell your plan in advance. It ends two full months after the month you move.
What happens to my Medicare Advantage plan if I move out of state and don't pick a new one?
The plan must disenroll you once it confirms the permanent move, and you're put in Original Medicare. If your plan included drug coverage, you'll have none until you join a drug plan or another plan with drug coverage, and 63 or more days in a row without creditable drug coverage can lead to a Part D late enrollment penalty.
Your plan's Evidence of Coverage, your policy wording and federal and state law control what applies to you. Confirm your own situation with a licensed agent, SHINE, or the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, and talk to an attorney for legal questions about residency.
Sources
- CMS: Medicare & You 2027 handbook
- CMS: Choosing a Medigap Policy (Product No. 02110, March 2026)
- CMS: Medicare Advantage and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance, CY 2027 (Aug 25, 2026)
- CMS: 2027 Medicare Advantage and Part D landscape state-by-state fact sheets (Open Enrollment dates)
- Medicare.gov: Special Enrollment Periods
- Medicare.gov: Change your address
- Medicare.gov: Medicare Savings Programs
- Medicare.gov: Help with drug costs (Extra Help)
- Social Security: Change of address
- eCFR: 42 CFR 422.62, election of coverage and special election periods
- eCFR: 42 CFR 422.74, disenrollment by the MA organization
- eCFR: 42 CFR 423.38, Part D enrollment periods
- eCFR: 42 CFR 423.44, involuntary disenrollment from Part D
- eCFR: 42 CFR 435.403, state residence for Medicaid
- Florida Statutes 627.6741: Medicare supplement issuance, cancellation, nonrenewal
- Florida Administrative Code 69O-156.0095: guaranteed issue for eligible persons
- Florida Department of Children and Families: Economic Self-Sufficiency FAQ
- SHIP Technical Assistance Center: Medicare and changes of residence
- CMS: Medicare Monthly Enrollment (Florida, 2013 to June 2026)
- U.S. Census Bureau: State population by age, Vintage 2025
- Florida SHINE program
- SHIP locator: shiphelp.org
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal, tax or insurance advice. Coverage depends on the actual policy, its terms, conditions and exclusions, and state law. Maru Insurance · WA License (WAOIC) #1365574 · FL License #G363233 · NPN 22261820.