Does Medicare Cover Care Out of the Country? 

If it’s been your life-long dream to travel around the world after retiring, you should find out whether you’ll have access to your health care insurance while you’re out of the United States. 

If you’re enrolled in Medicare, you may have limited coverage in some instances, depending on the type of plan you have. Here’s a look at what Medicare covers while you’re out of the country, and how you can make sure you have access to affordable health services before you leave. 

Does Medicare cover your medical care outside the United States? 

Original Medicare Parts A (hospital insurance) and B (medical insurance), cover health care services that you get while you’re in any of the 50 United States, in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.

As an enrollee of Original Medicare, you may also have coverage for inpatient hospital care, ambulance services, dialysis, or some outpatient care while you’re outside the United States, but only in the following instances:

• When you have a medical emergency during travel between any U.S. state and Alaska, and a Canadian hospital that can treat your condition is the nearest to your location. 
• When you experience a medical emergency in the United States or a U.S. territory and the nearest hospital that can treat you is in a “foreign” country like Canada or Mexico. 
• When you live in the United States or a U.S. territory, and you need care in a hospital (either emergency or non-emergency care), and the nearest hospital that can treat your condition is in a foreign country. For example, if you’re in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the nearest hospital is in the British Virgin Islands. 
• When you need medical care and you’re on a ship that is within the sailing time of six hours from a U.S. port. In these instances, the ship’s physician typically submits the claim to Medicare. 

If you receive care in any of the above-mentioned situations and Medicare Part A covers the care, you are still responsible for the Part A deductible. If Medicare Part B covers the care, you must pay 20 percent of the final, Medicare-approved cost after paying your Part B deductible for the year. 

If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (Part C)plan, you may have extended coverage that includes emergency foreign travel insurance. This depends on the Medicare Advantage plan you have. You should contact your provider for coverage details before traveling outside the United States. 

How does Medigap cover care out of the country?

Many beneficiaries who are enrolled in Original Medicare Parts A and B, purchase a Medicare Supplement plan, also known as Medigap, to ensure that they have some health insurance coverage outside the U.S. 

Today, Medigap Plans C, D, F, G, M, and N cover emergency health care for travelers. If you’re new to Medigap now, you won’t be able to enroll in Plan C or F, but this coverage is still available for those who purchased the plans in the past. 

These Medigap plans cover foreign travel emergency care that might occur during the first 60 days of your travel. They typically cover 80 percent of the charges for certain medically necessary care after you meet your annual deductible. Most of these Medigap plans have a lifetime limit of $50,000 for foreign travel care.