Possible to have a Primary Care Dr. in another state with Medicare? (medical, plan)

[WoodyWW]

Is it possible to have a Primary Care Dr. in a nearby state with Medicare? Or to see other doctors at a big medical group in a nearby state?

Reason I ask: I live in Mass. now, but am gradually moving to NH. I really like my PCP here in Mass.; & her office is about an hour from my new place in NH. Kind of a haul, but it's taken me 15 or 20 years to find a Dr. I really like.

TIA for any info or suggestions.

[Ariadne22]

ORIGINAL MEDICARE allows complete provider flexibility. If you have kept ORIGINAL MEDICARE - with or without a Medigap - you can see any doctor in any state, provided that doctor accepts Medicare patients. If you move and have a Medigap Supplement, you need to change Medigap carriers - i.e., buy a different plan in your new state - BUT - you can still travel to another state to see your favorite doctor if you wish. Original Medicare and your Medigap will always pay any Medicare participating/nonparticipating provider no matter where located.

If, instead, you are enrolled in a Medicare ADVANTAGE plan (which means dropping Original Medicare and turning all Medicare payments and administration over to a private insurer), NO, you cannot keep the same PCP. Advantage plans have their own provider networks. Moving to another state requires enrolling in a different Advantage plan with a different provider network - or going back to Original Medicare and possibly purchasing a Medigap (almost always the better choice, if you can afford it).

[WoodyWW]

Originally Posted by Ariadne22

ORIGINAL MEDICARE allows complete provider flexibility. If you have kept ORIGINAL MEDICARE - with or without a Medigap - you can see any doctor in any state, provided that doctor accepts Medicare patients. If you move and have a Medigap Supplement, you need to change Medigap carriers - i.e., buy a different plan in your new state - BUT - you can still travel to another state to see your favorite doctor if you wish. Original Medicare and your Medigap will always pay any Medicare participating/nonparticipating provider no matter where located.

If, instead, you are enrolled in a Medicare ADVANTAGE plan (which means dropping Original Medicare and turning all Medicare payments and administration over to a private insurer), NO, you cannot keep the same PCP. Advantage plans have their own provider networks. Moving to another state requires enrolling in a different Advantage plan with a different provider network - or going back to Original Medicare and possibly purchasing a Medigap (almost always the better choice, if you can afford it).

Thanks! But I should've made clear, I'm 64, & won't get Medicare for another 6 months or so. So I'm just starting to learn about all this.

So......will I be able to pick Original Medicare? Or not?

[reed303]

Originally Posted by WoodyWW

Thanks! But I should've made clear, I'm 64, & won't get Medicare for another 6 months or so. So I'm just starting to learn about all this.

So......will I be able to pick Original Medicare? Or not?

The choices are yours to make. You should apply for Medicare 3 months before age 65 birthday, unless you took early Social Security benefits. In that case you should be automatically enrolled just before 65.

If you have the time and the inclination, the Medicare website, starting at Getting started with Medicare | Medicare.gov
will be a wealth of information to help you thru the choices you need to make.

That said, there are several very knowledgeable posters in this forum who will help answer questions.

[Ariadne22]

Originally Posted by WoodyWW

Thanks! But I should've made clear, I'm 64, & won't get Medicare for another 6 months or so. So I'm just starting to learn about all this.

Start here:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/healt...tage-plan.html

Many other threads on CD on the issue. Just search Medicare, Medigap, Advantage, Supplement...