Change of Permanent Address
Moving will have an effect on your Medicare insurance.
If you have a Medicare Supplement, unless you are on a Medicare Select Plan, your supplement will continue to be in effect. There may be a change in the premium.
Most people with a supplement have a stand-alone drug plan. Many of these plans are nationwide, but are broken into service regions. When you call the insurance company, they can change you to the same plan in your new area, if there is one, or you can change to a new plan from a different company following the same rules that apply to a Medicare Advantage plan.
With Medicare Advantage, if you move out of your plan's service area, you will need to change your plan. You will have what is known as an SEP (special enrollment period).
If you notify the insurance company of a future move date, the SEP will be the month before you move, plus the next 2 months. If you notify the insurance company after you move, the SEP will be the month you notified the insurance, plus the next 2 months.
Generally speaking, you will receive a notice of when you will be disenrolled from your current plan. Disenrollment usually occurs at the end of the month that you notified the insurance company. If you do not choose a new plan by the end of this month, you will revert back to original Medicare. You would still have 2 months to choose a new plan. For this reason, I recommend notifying the insurance company early in the month and choosing your new plan in the same month, or, not to even bother notifying your insurance. When you enroll in a plan in your new area the old plan will automatically discontinue and you don't have to worry about reverting back to original Medicare.
Your current insurance company may make you aware of their plans in the area, and even offer to enroll you. However, if you want to know what other plans are available, it is best to speak with an independent agent. It may very well turn out that the company you were with is fine, but then again, their plan in your new area may not be the best one for your needs.
There are other scenarios if a person has been out of the plan's service area for more than six months, and the plan has not been notified.
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