Your Medicare number and Part A and Part B eligibility do not disappear when you move, but the steps you need to take depend on your coverage.

Original Medicare

Original Medicare works with participating providers throughout the United States. After moving:

  • Update your address with Social Security
  • Find new providers who take Medicare
  • Ask whether each provider accepts Medicare’s approved amount as full payment, called accepting assignment
  • Transfer prescriptions and medical records

Medicare Advantage and Part D

These plans have geographic service areas. If you move outside your plan's area, you can generally switch Medicare Advantage or Part D plans during a Special Enrollment Period.

Under CMS’s enrollment guidance for moves, the Special Enrollment Period for a move generally starts when you move and continues for two full months afterward. Telling the plan before the move can open the window the month before the move. Do not delay reporting in order to extend it; ask the plan to confirm the deadline for your circumstances. A move within the service area can also qualify if it gives you new plan options.

If a Medicare Advantage plan ends because you left its service area and you do not choose another plan, you generally return to Original Medicare. Arrange Part D promptly if needed.

Example: for a permanent move in November 2026 reported in advance, the usual window begins in October and continues through January 2027. Ask the new plan to confirm when coverage will start so you can line it up with the end of your old coverage. An ordinary temporary trip is not the same as a permanent move; check travel benefits instead.

Medigap and Medicaid

You can generally keep a standard Medigap policy when moving, but the premium may change. Medicare SELECT policies use provider networks and may require different action. Contact the insurer before moving. Leaving an Advantage plan’s service area may also give you a right to buy certain Medigap policies, called a guaranteed-issue right. Check which policies qualify and the application deadline before the plan ends.

Medicaid does not transfer automatically between states. Apply in the new state and plan for possible eligibility or coverage gaps.

Use Medicare's moving-related Special Enrollment Period rules.

Before the move, ask your private plan whether it serves the new address and contact the new state’s Medicaid office if you receive Medicaid. Keep the new coverage confirmations with the address-change record.

Medicare policy sources last checked: October 8, 2026.