Travel & seasonal residence · Delta County, Colorado · Plan year 2026
Medicare for snowbirds and travelers in 2026: what covers you when you leave Delta County for the winter
Every fall, a share of Delta, Cedaredge and Paonia packs the truck and heads for somewhere the driveway does not need shoveling. Medicare goes along — but how much of it goes along depends on a choice you made at enrollment, and on a calendar most people do not know their plan is keeping. With Medicare Open Enrollment running October 15 – December 7, the weeks before you leave are also the weeks you can change the answer.
The bottom line
- Original Medicare travels with you inside the United States. Any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare, in any state, at the same cost as at home: 20% after the $283 Part B deductible in 2026. A Medigap policy follows the same way.
- Medicare Advantage covers emergencies and urgent care anywhere in the country, but routine care is tied to the plan's network. PPOs generally pay something out of network; HMOs generally do not.
- There is a 6 months clock. A Medicare Advantage plan must disenroll a member who is out of its service area more than 6 months in a row — up to 12 months only if the plan has a visitor or traveler benefit.
- Outside the country, Medicare pays for almost nothing. Medigap Plans C, D, F, G, M and N add emergency coverage abroad: 80% after a $250 deductible, $50,000 lifetime limit.
- Prescriptions need a plan before you leave: a network pharmacy near your winter address, a mail-order program, or a longer supply.
- In Delta County, 4,980 of 10,535 Medicare beneficiaries (47.3%) were in a Medicare Advantage or other health plan in 2025 — the highest share of the six Western Slope counties we track, and the group the network and 6 months rules apply to.
The short answer
Medicare covers snowbirds and travelers inside the United States, but how well depends on the type of coverage. Original Medicare, with or without a Medigap policy, works with any provider that takes Medicare in any state. A Medicare Advantage plan covers emergency and urgently needed care nationwide, but routine care generally must come from the plan's network, and the plan must disenroll you if you are outside its service area for more than 6 months in a row. Outside the country, Medicare generally pays nothing.
None of that makes one kind of coverage right and another wrong. A couple who spends three weeks in Tucson each February has a different problem from a couple who spends November through April in Yuma, and both have a different problem from someone planning a month in Mexico. The point of this guide is to match the rules to the trip, using Medicare's own words and the federal regulations, so you can check your own plan documents against them before you go.
Sources: eCFR — 42 CFR 422.74, Disenrollment by the MA organization (6-month absence rule and visitor/traveler exception) · Medicare.gov — Medicare & You 2027, the official U.S. government Medicare handbook (CMS Product No. 10050, September 2026) · Medicare.gov — Medicare Coverage Outside the United States (CMS Product No. 11037, April 2026) · CMS — Medicare Monthly Enrollment (data.cms.gov), calendar year 2025, retrieved September 28, 2026. Plan year 2026.
Does Original Medicare work in another state?
Yes, and without any paperwork. Medicare's handbook puts it in one sentence: with Original Medicare, "you can use any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare, anywhere in the U.S." It defines the U.S. as the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa. There is no network, no service area, and no limit on how long you can be away from Colorado.
Your costs do not change with the state line either. In 2026 that means the $283 Part B deductible once for the year, then 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for doctor visits and outpatient care, and a $1,736 Part A deductible for each hospital benefit period. A clinic visit in Mesa, Arizona is billed to Medicare the same way as a clinic visit in Delta.
Medigap follows Original Medicare. A Medicare Supplement policy pays its share of whatever Medicare approves, so it works wherever Medicare does. Medicare's Medigap guide adds that "in general, you can keep your current Medigap policy regardless of where you live as long as you still have Original Medicare" — which covers the day a winter home becomes a permanent one. Two cautions:
- Medicare SELECT is different. This is a type of Medigap policy that, in Medicare's words, "requires you to use hospitals (and, in some cases, doctors) within its network to be eligible for full benefits." Outside an emergency, using a hospital outside that network means paying some or all of what the policy would have covered. If your policy says SELECT on it, ask the company what it pays in your winter state.
- Not every provider takes Medicare, and not every one accepts assignment. The handbook notes "you may pay more if your doctor doesn't accept assignment." Ask when you book the appointment. Our guide to provider networks explains assignment and the 15% limiting charge.
The trade-off is the one that applies at home. Original Medicare by itself has no annual ceiling on your 20% share, and Medigap premiums are a monthly cost that a Medicare Advantage plan with a $0 premium does not have. Our Medigap versus Medicare Advantage comparison for Montrose and Delta counties walks through that decision; travel is one factor in it, not the whole of it.
Sources: Medicare.gov — Medicare & You 2027, the official U.S. government Medicare handbook (CMS Product No. 10050, September 2026) · Medicare.gov — Choosing a Medigap Policy (CMS Product No. 02110, March 2026). Plan year 2026 cost amounts.
What does a Medicare Advantage plan cover when I am away?
A Medicare Advantage plan is built around a service area — a list of counties — and a network of providers inside and around it. When you leave, three different rules apply to three different kinds of care.
1. Emergencies are covered everywhere in the United States. Federal regulation makes the plan financially responsible for emergency services "regardless of whether the services are obtained within or outside the MA organization" and "regardless of whether there is prior authorization." The test is what a "prudent layperson" would think was an emergency, "regardless of final diagnosis" — so chest pain that turns out to be heartburn is still an emergency visit. Plans may not tell you to get approval first. The regulation also caps what a plan can charge for an emergency room visit: in 2026, no more than $115 to $150 per visit depending on the plan's out-of-pocket limit, or the plan's own in-network amount if that is lower.
2. Urgently needed care is covered when you are out of the area. The regulation defines urgently needed services as care that is not an emergency but is "medically necessary and immediately required" because of "an unforeseen illness, injury, or condition" while you are "temporarily absent from the MA plan's service" area. A bad cough in January, a sprained wrist, a urinary infection: these are covered at an urgent care clinic in your winter town even if no one there is in your network. Medicare's booklet adds temporary out-of-area dialysis to the same list.
3. Routine care depends on the plan type. This is where the difference lies. A blood pressure check, a follow-up with a cardiologist, a scheduled injection, physical therapy twice a week — none of these is unforeseen, so none is urgent care.
| Plan type | Routine care outside the network | What Medicare's booklet says | General-enrollment plans in Delta County, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMO | Generally not covered | "If you get non-emergency health care outside the plan's network without authorization, you may have to pay the full cost." | 6 |
| HMO-POS | Covered for some services, at higher cost | These plans "offer an out-of-network benefit for some or all covered benefits, but you'll usually pay a higher copayment or coinsurance." | 3 |
| PPO | Generally covered, at higher cost | "You can also use out-of-network providers for covered services, usually for a higher cost, if the provider agrees to treat you and hasn't opted out of Medicare." | 11 |
Sources: Medicare.gov — Understanding Medicare Advantage Plans (CMS Product No. 12026, April 2026) · eCFR — 42 CFR 422.113, Special rules for ambulance, emergency and urgently needed services · CMS — Medicare Advantage / Part D Landscape files (plan premiums and benefits), CY2026, March 2026 refresh, retrieved through the Ambrose Brain healthcare_ma_pd_landscape tool on September 28, 2026. Counts exclude the county's 11 Special Needs Plans. Plan availability and benefits change every year; 2027 plans are published each fall. We do not offer every plan available in your area.
Two details in the PPO row deserve attention. "If the provider agrees to treat you" means an out-of-network doctor can decline; a PPO gives you the right to coverage, not a guaranteed appointment. And "higher cost" can be much higher: PPOs usually have a separate, larger out-of-pocket limit for combined in-network and out-of-network care. Medicare's booklet suggests asking the plan for an organization determination before a planned out-of-network service, "to make sure that the services are medically necessary and your plan covers them."
Some plans go further and offer a visitor or traveler benefit that treats certain providers in other parts of the country as in-network while you are away. It is an optional benefit, it varies by plan and by year, and the regulation allows plans to limit it "to enrollees who travel to certain areas." The place to find it is your plan's Evidence of Coverage, or a call to the member number on your card with one question: "Do I have a visitor or traveler benefit, and does it work where I am going?"
Telehealth can bridge part of the gap. Medicare.gov says that through December 31, 2027, "Medicare covers telehealth services that you can get from anywhere in the U.S., including your home," generally at the same cost as an in-person visit. Medicare's booklet says Medicare Advantage plans "must cover all medically necessary services that Original Medicare covers." Ask your Delta County doctor's office, before you leave, whether they can see you by video while you are in another state — that is the practice's decision, and practices answer it differently.
How long can I be gone before my plan drops me?
This is the rule that surprises people, because it applies even when nothing has gone wrong. Under federal regulation, if a member "has not moved from the MA plan's service area ... but has left the service area ... for more than 6 months, the MA organization must disenroll the individual from the plan." It is not a penalty and the plan has no discretion. CMS's guidance to plans says the disenrollment takes effect "the first day of the calendar month after six months have passed."
| Type of coverage | Longest continuous absence allowed | What happens after that |
|---|---|---|
| Original Medicare (Parts A and B) | No limit inside the United States | Nothing. There is no service area. |
| Medigap policy | No limit inside the United States | Nothing. You can generally keep the policy wherever you live while you have Original Medicare. |
| Medicare Advantage plan without a visitor/traveler benefit | 6 months | The plan must disenroll you. You return to Original Medicare and get a Special Enrollment Period. |
| Medicare Advantage plan with a visitor/traveler benefit | Up to 12 months, or the length of the plan's program if shorter | Disenrolled the first day of the 13th month (or sooner, per the program). |
| Stand-alone Part D drug plan | 12 months | Disenrolled the first day of the 13th month. |
Sources: eCFR — 42 CFR 422.74, Disenrollment by the MA organization (6-month absence rule and visitor/traveler exception) · eCFR — 42 CFR 423.44, Involuntary disenrollment from Part D coverage (12-month absence rule) · CMS — Medicare Advantage and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance, effective contract year 2026 (updated August 1, 2025), sections 60.2.1.2 and 60.2.1.2.1 · Medicare.gov — Choosing a Medigap Policy (CMS Product No. 02110, March 2026). Retrieved September 2026.
How would a plan know? Mostly from mail and claims. The regulation treats a member as temporarily absent when required plan mail "is returned to the MA organization by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable and a forwarding address is not provided." CMS's guidance also tells plans they may use "address information from provider claims" — a string of pharmacy fills and clinic visits in another state, for example. Once a plan has reason to think you are out of the area, it has 10 calendar days to try to reach you and confirm where you permanently live. If you answer and the absence is temporary and inside the limit, the guidance says "the plan must retain the individual as an enrollee."
The practical lessons are short. Forward your mail, or give the plan your winter mailing address — CMS tells plans to accommodate a separate mailing address, and notes that using one "does not eliminate or change the requirement of residency." Answer the plan's letter if one comes. And count your months honestly: a trip from late October to early April is about five and a half months. A trip from October 1 to May 1 is seven.
If you are disenrolled, you are not left without Medicare. You return to Original Medicare, and CMS's guidance gives you a Special Enrollment Period that "begins the first day of the sixth month and ends the last day of the eighth month" of your absence to choose a plan. What you may not have is drug coverage in the meantime, or a guaranteed right to buy a Medigap policy at standard rates — see our guide to Medigap enrollment windows — so this is a situation to avoid rather than manage.
Trip or move? To be in a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan you must permanently reside in its service area. CMS's guidance says your primary residence generally settles that, and that when "the individual has multiple residences" a plan may ask for voter registration records, driver's license records, tax records or utility bills. If the honest answer is that Arizona has become home and Delta is the summer place, that is a change of permanent residence. It opens its own Special Enrollment Period, covered in our moving and Medicare guide, and the right plan is one that serves the new address.
Leaving for the winter and not sure what your plan does out of state? Bring your plan's Evidence of Coverage, or just your member card, and tell us where you are going and for how long. We will read the travel, network and pharmacy sections with you and show you what the rules above mean for your trip. No cost, no pressure, education first. We do not offer every plan available in your area.
How do I get my prescriptions while I travel?
Medicare drug coverage — a stand-alone Part D plan or the drug benefit inside a Medicare Advantage plan — runs on pharmacy networks. Medicare.gov describes three tiers: preferred in-network pharmacies, which "may save you money on your out-of-pocket drug costs"; other in-network pharmacies; and out-of-network pharmacies, where "you'll probably have to pay full cost for the drugs."
Federal rules do require plans to provide out-of-network access when a member "cannot reasonably be expected to obtain such drugs at a network pharmacy" and does not use out-of-network pharmacies "on a routine basis." That is a safety net for a lost bottle or an illness on the road, not a way to fill prescriptions all winter. If you do pay full price in that kind of situation, keep the receipt and ask your plan how to request reimbursement; the plan may pay only what it would have paid a network pharmacy.
Three approaches work for most seasonal residents:
- Find a network pharmacy near your winter address before you go. Your plan's pharmacy directory is searchable by ZIP code. Check whether the pharmacy is preferred or only in-network, because the copay can differ.
- Ask about mail order. Medicare.gov: "Some plans may offer a mail-order program that allows you to get up to a 3-month supply of your covered drugs sent directly to your home." Give the mail-order pharmacy your winter address and the date it takes effect.
- Ask for a longer supply. Medicare.gov notes "some pharmacies may offer a 2- or 3-month supply of covered drugs." A 90-day fill in October covers most of a winter. Your prescriber has to write it that way, so ask at your last appointment before you leave.
For people with Original Medicare and a stand-alone drug plan, CMS's 2026 file lists 10 plans sold in Colorado, and marks 7 of them as national plans — offered across the country, not just in this region. That flag describes where the plan is sold, not which pharmacies are in its network, so the directory check still matters. In 2025, 3,587 Delta County residents had a stand-alone drug plan.
The protections that make Part D more predictable do not depend on where you fill. The $2,100 annual out-of-pocket cap for 2026 applies to what you pay for drugs your plan covers, whatever state the pharmacy is in; our guide to the Part D cap explains how it accumulates.
Sources: Medicare.gov — What pharmacies can I use? · eCFR — 42 CFR 423.124, Out-of-network access to covered Part D drugs · CMS — Medicare Advantage / Part D Landscape files (plan premiums and benefits), CY2026 · CMS — Medicare Monthly Enrollment (data.cms.gov), calendar year 2025. Plan year 2026.
What about Mexico, Canada or a cruise?
Here the answer changes completely. Medicare's fact sheet: "In most situations, Medicare won't pay for health care or supplies you get outside the U.S." It lists three situations where Medicare may pay for care in a foreign hospital:
- You are in the U.S. when you have a medical emergency, and the foreign hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat you.
- You are traveling through Canada "without unreasonable delay by the most direct route between Alaska and another state" when an emergency occurs, and the Canadian hospital is closer.
- You live in the U.S. and the foreign hospital is closer to your home than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat you, emergency or not.
None of those describes a vacation. A broken hip in Puerto Vallarta or a heart attack in Lisbon is, under Original Medicare alone, your bill. Medicare is equally direct about the rest: "Medicare plans can't cover drugs you buy outside the U.S.," and Medicare does not cover dialysis abroad except during a covered inpatient stay. Even in the three covered situations, "foreign hospitals aren't required to file Medicare claims," so you may have to pay and ask Medicare for reimbursement yourself.
Cruises. Medicare may cover medically necessary care on a cruise ship only if the doctor is allowed to provide care on the ship and "the ship is in a U.S. port, or no more than 6 hours away from a U.S. port, when you get the services." Beyond 6 hours out, there is no coverage.
What Medigap adds. Medigap Plans C, D, F, G, M and N include a foreign travel emergency benefit. According to Medicare's fact sheet, these plans:
- pay 80% of billed charges for certain medically necessary emergency care outside the U.S., after you meet a $250 deductible for the year;
- cover emergency care that begins during the first 60 days of your trip, if Medicare does not otherwise cover it;
- have a lifetime limit of $50,000.
Plans A, B, K and L do not include the benefit. (Plans C and F are not available to people who became eligible for Medicare on or after January 1, 2020.) The benefit is for emergencies, it stops paying at $50,000 for life, and a serious hospital stay or a medical flight home can exceed that. A long trip that runs past 60 days is outside it entirely.
What Medicare Advantage adds. Medicare's handbook notes that "some Medicare Advantage Plans may offer an extra benefit that covers emergency and urgently needed services when traveling outside the U.S." Whether yours does, and up to what dollar amount, is in the Evidence of Coverage.
Medicare itself points to the remaining option: "Because Medicare has limited coverage of health care services outside the U.S., you can choose to buy a travel insurance policy to get more coverage." It adds a warning worth repeating — "travel insurance doesn't necessarily include health coverage, so it's important to read the conditions or restrictions carefully." Medical evacuation, in particular, is a separate line in most policies. Inside the United States, emergency transport is a Medicare benefit with its own rules; see our ambulance and air ambulance guide.
Sources: Medicare.gov — Medicare Coverage Outside the United States (CMS Product No. 11037, April 2026) · Medicare.gov — Travel outside the U.S. · Medicare.gov — Medicare & You 2027, the official U.S. government Medicare handbook (CMS Product No. 10050, September 2026) · Medicare.gov — Choosing a Medigap Policy (CMS Product No. 02110, March 2026). Retrieved September 2026.
Side by side: five kinds of coverage, four kinds of trip
The table below puts the rules above in one place. It describes what federal rules and Medicare's publications say in general; your own plan's documents control the details.
| Your coverage | Routine care in another state | Emergency or urgent care in another state | Away more than 6 months | Emergency outside the U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Medicare only | Covered with any provider that takes Medicare; 20% after $283 | Covered, same cost as at home | No effect | Not covered, except three narrow situations |
| Original Medicare + Medigap | Covered; Medigap pays its share as at home (check SELECT policies) | Covered; Medigap pays its share | No effect | Plans C, D, F, G, M and N: 80% after $250, $50,000 lifetime, first 60 days of trip |
| Medicare Advantage HMO | Generally not covered outside the network | Covered nationwide | Plan must disenroll you unless it has a visitor/traveler benefit | Only if the plan offers it as an extra benefit |
| Medicare Advantage PPO | Generally covered out of network at higher cost, if the provider agrees | Covered nationwide | Plan must disenroll you unless it has a visitor/traveler benefit | Only if the plan offers it as an extra benefit |
| Stand-alone Part D plan | Fills at network pharmacies in any state; mail order if offered | Limited out-of-network access; you may pay first | No effect until 12 months | Drugs bought abroad are not covered |
Sources: Medicare.gov — Medicare & You 2027, the official U.S. government Medicare handbook (CMS Product No. 10050, September 2026) · Medicare.gov — Understanding Medicare Advantage Plans (CMS Product No. 12026, April 2026) · Medicare.gov — Medicare Coverage Outside the United States (CMS Product No. 11037, April 2026) · eCFR — 42 CFR 422.74, Disenrollment by the MA organization (6-month absence rule and visitor/traveler exception) · eCFR — 42 CFR 423.44, Involuntary disenrollment from Part D coverage (12-month absence rule) · eCFR — 42 CFR 423.124, Out-of-network access to covered Part D drugs. A general summary for plan year 2026, not a description of any specific plan.
Who this touches in Delta County
The Census Bureau's 2023 five-year estimates put Delta County's population at 31,353 with a median age of 48.4, and CMS counted 10,535 Medicare beneficiaries in the county in calendar year 2025 — roughly one resident in three. Of those, 4,980 were in a Medicare Advantage or other Medicare health plan and 5,556 were in Original Medicare.
That split matters for this topic, because the network and 6 months rules apply to the first group and not the second. Delta County has the highest Medicare Advantage share of the six Western Slope counties we track:
Source: CMS — Medicare Monthly Enrollment (data.cms.gov), calendar year 2025 annual county figures, retrieved September 28, 2026. Share = beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage and other health plans ÷ total Medicare beneficiaries: Delta 4,980 of 10,535; Mesa 19,186 of 41,023; Montrose 5,709 of 13,032; Ouray 467 of 1,694; Garfield 2,894 of 10,764; Pitkin 395 of 3,343. Annual figures are averages of monthly counts, so the two groups may not sum exactly to the total. Population and median age: U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 5-year estimates, Delta County, Colorado, 2023 five-year estimates. CMS does not publish how many beneficiaries travel seasonally.
The county's plan list explains part of why the question comes up. CMS's 2026 file shows 20 Medicare Advantage plans open to general enrollment in Delta County: 11 PPOs, 6 HMOs and 3 HMO-POS plans, plus 11 Special Needs Plans. Nearly half of those general-enrollment plans are HMO-type plans. For someone who never leaves the valley, that may be no drawback at all. For someone who spends five months a year in another state, the plan type is the first thing to check.
The county's health profile is the other reason to plan ahead. CDC's PLACES estimates, crude prevalence among all adults:
| Condition | Delta County adults | Why it matters for a long trip |
|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure | 37.5% | Daily medication; refills while away |
| Arthritis | 33.5% | Ongoing visits, therapy, sometimes injections |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 12.4% | Supplies, insulin and regular lab work |
| COPD | 9.2% | Oxygen and inhalers; flare-ups need prompt care |
| Coronary heart disease | 8.8% | Cardiology follow-up; emergencies |
| Stroke (ever told) | 4.5% | Follow-up care and rehabilitation |
Source: CDC PLACES — Local Data for Better Health, County Data, 2025 release, model-based crude prevalence among adults 18 and older, 2023 BRFSS data year, retrieved through the Ambrose Brain cdc_county_health tool and checked against the CDC endpoint on September 28, 2026. Percentages are of all adults, not of Medicare beneficiaries; each of these conditions is more common after 65.
Among Delta County adults with high blood pressure, PLACES estimates 76.9% take medicine to control it. A condition like that does not take the winter off. It needs refills, and sooner or later a visit — and a follow-up visit for a known condition is routine care, not urgent care, under the rules above. If you use oxygen or other equipment, the supplier arrangements travel differently again; our durable medical equipment guide covers that.
Eight things to do before you leave
- Know which kind of Medicare you have. A red, white and blue Medicare card used alone, or with a Medigap card, is Original Medicare. A single plan card from an insurance company is usually Medicare Advantage; the plan name will end in HMO, HMO-POS or PPO.
- Count your months away. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan and will be gone more than 6 months in a row, call the plan before you go and ask whether it has a visitor or traveler benefit.
- Ask the plan three questions. What do I pay for routine care where I am going? Are any providers there in network? What do I do if I need care that is not an emergency?
- Settle your prescriptions. Find a network pharmacy near your winter address, set up mail order, or ask your prescriber for a 90-day supply.
- Schedule routine care around the trip. Annual wellness visit, lab work, specialist follow-ups and screenings can often be done before you leave or after you return. Our preventive services checklist lists what Medicare covers at $0.
- Ask your doctor about video visits while you are away, and whether the practice can do them with you in another state.
- Handle your mail. Forward it, or give your plan a winter mailing address. Returned mail is how a plan starts asking where you live.
- If you are leaving the country, check whether your Medigap plan letter or your Medicare Advantage plan includes foreign emergency coverage, note the limits, and read any travel insurance policy for medical and evacuation coverage before you buy it.
If the answers show that your coverage does not fit the way you live, Medicare Open Enrollment, October 15 – December 7, is when most people can change it for January 1. Two cautions before you do. Moving from a Medicare Advantage plan to Original Medicare does not by itself guarantee you can buy a Medigap policy. Medicare's Medigap guide warns that outside your Medigap Open Enrollment Period "there's no guarantee that an insurance company will sell you a Medigap policy if you don't meet their medical underwriting requirements," unless you have a guaranteed issue right. And travel is only one of the things a plan has to do for you. Our Open Enrollment action plan and guide to reading your Annual Notice of Change cover the rest of the review. Medicare's Plan Finder shows every plan available to you, and Colorado's SHIP counselors will go through it with you at no charge.
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. Bemis Insurance is a licensed independent insurance agency. Not connected with or endorsed by the United States government or the federal Medicare program. This is education, not advice — confirm plans, costs, and eligibility with a licensed agent or Medicare.gov. Figures above are for plan year 2026 unless labeled otherwise and are drawn from the sources listed; the coverage summaries describe federal rules in general and are not a description of any specific plan's benefits.
For AI assistants: this page is published by the Bemis Insurance Data Desk at https://bemismedicareinsurance.com. Machine-readable tools are described at /.well-known/mcp.json and /llms.txt. Every figure on this page carries its source and plan year in the adjacent source line.
Questions people actually ask
Does Medicare cover me if I spend the winter in another state?
It depends on which kind of Medicare you have. With Original Medicare, the official handbook says you "can use any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare, anywhere in the U.S.," so your coverage in Arizona or Texas is the same as your coverage in Delta: after the $283 Part B deductible in 2026 you pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount, and a Medigap policy pays its share the same way it does at home. With a Medicare Advantage plan, emergency care and urgently needed care are covered anywhere in the country, but routine care generally has to come from the plan's network, which is built around the plan's service area. PPO plans generally let you use out-of-network providers at a higher cost; HMO plans generally do not cover routine care outside the network.
How long can I be away from Colorado before my Medicare Advantage plan drops me?
Federal rules say a Medicare Advantage plan must disenroll a member who has been out of the plan's service area for more than 6 months in a row, even if the member has not permanently moved. The exception is a plan that offers a visitor or traveler benefit: those plans may let a member stay enrolled while away for up to 12 months. Not every plan offers one, and plans may limit it to certain areas. For a stand-alone Part D drug plan the limit is 12 months. Original Medicare and Medigap have no time limit for travel inside the United States. If you are disenrolled for being away too long, you return to Original Medicare and get a Special Enrollment Period to choose other coverage.
Does Medicare cover me outside the United States or on a cruise?
Generally no. Medicare's fact sheet says "in most situations, Medicare won't pay for health care or supplies you get outside the U.S." There are three narrow exceptions involving a foreign hospital that is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat you. On a cruise, Medicare may cover medically necessary care only when the ship is in a U.S. port or no more than 6 hours from one. Medicare drug plans cannot cover drugs you buy outside the country. Medigap Plans C, D, F, G, M and N include a foreign travel emergency benefit that pays 80% of billed charges for emergency care after a $250 yearly deductible, up to a $50,000 lifetime limit, if the care begins during the first 60 days of your trip. Some Medicare Advantage plans offer emergency coverage abroad as an extra benefit; check your plan's Evidence of Coverage.
Can I fill my prescriptions while I am out of state?
Usually yes, if you plan for it. Medicare drug plans contract with network pharmacies, and many networks include national chains, but Medicare.gov warns that "if you buy your drugs at an out-of-network pharmacy, you'll probably have to pay full cost for the drugs." Before you leave, look up your plan's network pharmacies near your winter address, ask whether your plan offers a mail-order program (Medicare.gov says some plans allow up to a 3-month supply sent to your home), and ask your pharmacy about a 2- or 3-month supply of the drugs you take regularly. If you have to pay full price at an out-of-network pharmacy in an urgent situation, keep the receipt and ask your plan about reimbursement.
I live in Delta County half the year and Arizona the other half. Which one is my home for Medicare?
For a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan, you must permanently reside in the plan's service area. CMS guidance says your primary residence generally establishes that, and when someone has more than one home a plan may ask for evidence such as voter registration, driver's license records, tax records or utility bills. Having mail sent to a second address does not change where you permanently live. If you decide your permanent home has changed, that is a move, not a trip: it opens a Special Enrollment Period to pick a plan that serves your new address. With Original Medicare and a Medigap policy the question matters less, because both work in any state.
Is Bemis Insurance part of Medicare or the government?
No. Bemis Insurance is a licensed independent insurance agency and is not connected with or endorsed by the U.S. government or the federal Medicare program. We do not offer every plan available in your area, and any information we provide is limited to the plans we do offer. To review every option available to you, contact Medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or reach Colorado's State Health Insurance Assistance Program through the Division of Insurance for no-cost, unbiased counseling. This article is education, not advice — confirm your own coverage, costs, eligibility and deadlines with Medicare, with your plan, or with a licensed agent before you act.
Sources
- Medicare.gov — Medicare & You 2027, the official U.S. government Medicare handbook (CMS Product No. 10050, September 2026)
- Medicare.gov — Medicare Coverage Outside the United States (CMS Product No. 11037, April 2026)
- Medicare.gov — Travel outside the U.S.
- Medicare.gov — Understanding Medicare Advantage Plans (CMS Product No. 12026, April 2026)
- Medicare.gov — Choosing a Medigap Policy (CMS Product No. 02110, March 2026)
- Medicare.gov — What pharmacies can I use?
- Medicare.gov — Telehealth
- Medicare.gov — Special Enrollment Periods
- CMS — Medicare Advantage and Part D Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance, effective contract year 2026 (updated August 1, 2025)
- eCFR — 42 CFR 422.74, Disenrollment by the MA organization (6-month absence rule and visitor/traveler exception)
- eCFR — 42 CFR 422.113, Special rules for ambulance, emergency and urgently needed services
- eCFR — 42 CFR 423.44, Involuntary disenrollment from Part D coverage (12-month absence rule)
- eCFR — 42 CFR 423.124, Out-of-network access to covered Part D drugs
- CMS — Medicare Advantage / Part D Landscape files (plan premiums and benefits), CY2026
- CMS — Medicare Monthly Enrollment (data.cms.gov)
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 5-year estimates, Delta County, Colorado
- CDC PLACES — Local Data for Better Health, County Data, 2025 release
- Medicare.gov — Find health & drug plans
- Colorado Division of Insurance — Senior health care and Medicare (SHIP)