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Originally Posted by charmed59
I’ve been a full time resident here in the Villages for 6 years and am looking to turn into a snowbird.
For those who go back and forth, how do you manage Health care? I have doctors here, but I’m aging into Medicare so I’m need to chose a Medicare plan. The popular plans don’t seem to work outside of central Florida. I’d like to have most of my planned medical care, including my primary at my summer home.
Are there Medicare plans that work anywhere in the US? Or do I pick a plan that works in my snowbird state and then just use regular Medicare here? I do have the option of holding onto my federal retirement medical insurance. Can I use that as backup for Florida in case of emergencies while I’m here in the winter?
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Medicare Advantage plans typically are restricted to local networks and seeing specialists require referrals from a primary care doctor while Medigap plans have a national network and allow you to see specialists without a referral. We are snowflakes (travel between both homes several times per year) and would not even consider an Advantage plan as we would be out of network at one location and have to chase down referrals. I can’t speak for balancing both federal retirement medical insurance with Medicare as that doesn’t apply to us so I never researched it.
I would recommend picking up a good updated book such as “Maximizing Your Medicare” that explains various options in great detail. It’s a very important decision as you approach 65 and should be carefully researched. Best of luck!