Original Medicare’s usual rule
Care in another country is generally not covered. Medicare.gov describes limited exceptions — for example certain situations in Canada or Mexico when a foreign hospital is closer in an emergency, or when a U.S. hospital is not available. Those exceptions are narrow. Confirm on Medicare.gov before you travel. This is not travel insurance.
Medigap foreign-travel emergency
Some standardized letters (including Plan G and Plan N) include a foreign-travel emergency benefit with limits, a deductible, and a lifetime cap. Read the outline of coverage. It is not worldwide health insurance.
Medicare Advantage
Networks are usually local. Emergency and urgent coverage outside the service area, including abroad, varies by plan. Do not assume last year’s extra benefit still exists. Read this year’s Evidence of Coverage.
Common questions
- Does this site sell travel insurance?
- No. This page is Medicare education. Confirm foreign-care rules on Medicare.gov and with your outline of coverage.
My Medicare Checkup
Answer a few questions about your ZIP code, what matters about cost and doctors, and where you get care. The summary shows the questions those answers raise. Confirm each one with the office, the plan, or Medicare.gov. A listing in a directory, or the name of a plan, does not show whether a doctor is in the network, whether a prescription is covered, or what you would pay this year.
Start My Medicare CheckupYou will get a summary of the questions to verify. You can also talk it through with Alan.