MedicareWire

Shop and compare Medicare plans nationwide.

Speak to a Licensed Advisor[1]

1-855-266-4865

Mon-Fri: 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET

  • Medicare Advantage
  • Medicare Part D
  • Medigap
  • Special Needs
  • More➲
    • Senior Dental Insurance
    • Best Medicare Plans
    • MedicareWire Blog
      • Latest Posts
      • Medicare Insurance Plans
      • What Does Medicare Cover?
    • Important Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Medicare Glossary
Home › What Does Medicare Cover? › Does Medicare Travel With You on Your Vacations?

Does Medicare Travel With You on Your Vacations?

June 4, 2014

Does Medicare cover you when you travel? Are you planning a vacation or two this summer?  Make sure you know what your health insurance covers before you leave town.  Medicare’s coverage of your medical care depends on where you travel and how you receive your Medicare benefits.

How Medicare Works When You Travel Inside the US and its Territories

If you have Original Medicare, you can travel anywhere within the US and its territories to get your doctor or hospital care.  This includes all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.  Other than this, Original Medicare generally doesn’t cover any medical care abroad.

[inpostad]If you have a Medicare Advantage Plan (a Medicare plan offered by a private insurer), you may or may not be covered while traveling in the United States and its territories.  Sometimes there is an extra cost associated with seeing providers outside of your network area.  Some plans also require prior authorization (except for emergency and urgent care).  Make sure to contact your plan provider and get all of the details before you leave town.

How Medicare Works When You’re on a Cruise Ship

Medicare may cover medically-necessary health care received on a cruise ship if:

  1. The ship doctor is allowed under certain laws to provide medical services; and
  2. The ship is in a U.S. port or no further than 6 hours away from one.

Medicare will not cover services received when the ship is further than 6 hours away from a U.S. port.

How Medicare Works with Health Care Abroad

Medicare only pays for very limited services outside of the U.S.  Your circumstances must meet certain exceptions, otherwise you pay the full cost of your treatment to the health care provider.  Exceptions include:

  1. You are in the U.S. when you have a medical emergency needing attention, and the foreign hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital;
  2. You are traveling through Canada without unreasonable delay (determined by Medicare), by the most direct route between Alaska and another state, when your emergency occurs and the Canadian hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat you; and
  3. You live in the U.S. and the foreign hospital is closer to your home than the nearest U.S. hospital.
PLEASE NOTE:  If you have Medigap (Medicare Supplement Insurance), your policy may offer additional coverage for health care received outside the U.S.  Click here to read about this and more on Medicare coverage outside the United States.

Article by David Bynon / What Does Medicare Cover? / abroad, baby boomers, benefits, health insurance, healthcare, medicare, seniors, travel, travel insurance, vacation

Do Low-Cost Medicare Supplement Plans Save Money?

Medicare supplement insurance premiums continue to increase. The increases have a lot to do with changes brought about by the Affordable Care Act (aka, Obama) and how these changes affect reimbursements to health care providers. As a result, a lot of seniors are asking about low-cost Medicare … [Read More...]

Is CMS Biased in Favor of Medicare Advantage?

While studying Medicare & You 2021: The official U.S. government Medicare handbook to look for changes coming in the new year (which you can download here), the MedicareWire staff began noticing language and diagrams that it felt would bias readers. In fact, once you start looking for it, you … [Read More...]

2021 Medicare Open Enrollment: A Guide to Dates, Costs and Eligibility

Everything you need to know about Medicare's Annual Election Period (AEP) dates, costs, eligibility, and opportunities to change your Medicare insurance coverage this Fall. What’s in this 2021 Medicare AEP guide? When is Medicare Open Enrollment for 2021 Coverage? How to Enroll in … [Read More...]

Does Medicare Cover Physical Therapy After An Accident or Surgery?

Does Medicare Cover Physical Therapy? If you’re covered by Medicare and have an illness or injury that requires physical therapy, you may wonder, “what does Medicare cover?” More specifically, you’ll likely want to know does Medicare cover physical therapy? In this article, we will look at … [Read More...]

Does Medicare Cover Eye Exams for Seniors?

Does Medicare Cover Eye Exams? With Original Medicare, you have coverage for all of the routine checkups and preventative care you need. But what about your eyes? If you are wondering if your medicare benefits cover visits to the eye doctor, you might be surprised by the answer: Original … [Read More...]

More Posts from this Category

Related Topics

[1] Licensed Sales Agent

Licensed sales agent (“advisor”) services are provided by HealthPlanOne, LLC, MedicareWire’s trusted partner. Read our full sales agent disclosure.

[2] Trademark Notice

MedicareWire uses legal U.S. trademarks to identify and describe Medicare and other insurance products for shoppers. See our full trademark use disclosure.

About MedicareWire

  • About
  • Contact
  • Connect with Us!
  • Privacy
  • Disclosure
  • Medicare Supplement Reviews

Copyright © 2021 MedicareWire.com - All Rights Reserved

Who is MedicareWire?
David Bynon
Chief Petty Officer David Bynon re-enlisting 15 September 2001.

Hello, my name is David Bynon.

I founded MedicareWire in 2011 after retiring from the Navy. I’ve made helping people like you my full-time retirement profession.

My goal is to help you see all the rates offered by insurance companies that sell Medigap policies in your area.

I am not an insurance agent.

My job is to make sure that you have the information you need to be comfortable with your plan decision. When it comes to choosing a Medigap plan, I want you to be able to see all rates and carriers before speaking with an agent.

To provide you with this free service, I need to ask you to provide your age, gender, zip code, and email address. I promise to keep your information secure. You can count on me not to share, sell, or otherwise divulge your information to anyone.

Yours in Better Medicare.

David Bynon

Medigap Quotes by Email: Compare and Save!


Complete this form and MedicareWire will send you a complete rate analysis on Medigap plans in your area. This is a free service with no obligations.

Answers to the following questions will allow us to get accurate information for you. These are some of the same questions you will be asked when you apply for insurance. We will not sell, provide, or otherwise disclose the information you provide to anyone.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.