Key Takeaways

• Medicare coverage has significant limitations when it comes to travel, especially outside the U.S. Make sure your clients understand these restrictions before they book their next trip.

• Helping clients proactively plan around these gaps builds trust and positions you as a valuable resource beyond enrollment.

Why Travel Planning Is a Medicare Conversation

Travel isn’t just a lifestyle choice anymore—it’s part of how many retirees plan their post-work years. Whether it’s seasonal relocation, international cruises, or extended visits to family across the country, Medicare annuitants often assume their coverage goes wherever they do. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Your role as an independent agent doesn’t stop at plan selection. In 2025, you’re expected to help clients adapt to how their healthcare needs intersect with their retirement plans—including travel. This is where strategic conversations come in.

What Original Medicare Covers—and Doesn’t—When Traveling

Original Medicare (Parts A and B) offers strong domestic coverage but very limited protection once a client steps outside the U.S. and its territories.

Inside the U.S.

• Coverage remains in effect anywhere in the U.S., including all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

• Provider flexibility stays intact, as long as the provider accepts Medicare.

Outside the U.S.

• No routine coverage is provided for medical care received outside the U.S. and its territories.

• Exceptions are rare and apply only in limited situations, such as:

  • Traveling directly between Alaska and another state through Canada and a medical emergency occurs.

  • A foreign hospital is closer than a U.S. hospital for a medical emergency.

These exceptions are highly situational and not dependable as travel insurance. If your client travels abroad regularly, this becomes a serious gap.

Medicare Advantage and Travel: More Variation, More Risk

Unlike Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans often come with networks. And networks come with boundaries.

In 2025, many Medicare Advantage plans include emergency coverage for out-of-area or even international travel. However, routine care outside the plan’s service area is usually not covered.

Here’s what you need to review with clients:

• Does their plan include travel benefits? Some Advantage plans may include limited worldwide emergency coverage, but this is not standard.

• What are the costs of using out-of-network providers domestically? Travel within the U.S. still may result in denied claims or higher costs if the provider isn’t in-network.

• Will they be gone long enough to lose their plan eligibility? If a client moves out of their plan’s service area for more than six months, disenrollment could be triggered.

As an agent, you must help clients read the fine print and understand the timeline implications of leaving their plan’s area.

3 Types of Travel That Create the Most Confusion

Understanding the client’s travel profile will help you guide the conversation. These three categories present the most frequent coverage misunderstandings:

1. Long-Term Domestic Travel

Snowbirds and RV travelers who spend months in different parts of the U.S. need:

• A Medicare Advantage plan with a national provider network (if they choose Advantage).

• Or to stay with Original Medicare for full domestic flexibility.

Clients often assume any U.S. location counts as in-network. This isn’t true for most Medicare Advantage plans.

2. International Travel

Clients traveling abroad, even for short trips, are often surprised to learn:

• Medicare provides almost no coverage outside the U.S.

• They may need separate travel medical insurance.

• Emergency-only provisions in Advantage plans might include reimbursement limits and strict documentation requirements.

Agents should clearly explain that neither Part A nor Part B pays for routine or emergency care internationally except in very narrow exceptions.

3. Temporary Moves and Extended Family Visits

A client moving temporarily to care for grandchildren, attend a long rehab stay, or explore retirement options may unintentionally risk their coverage.

• Original Medicare travels well, but Advantage plans do not.

• Clients should avoid temporary moves beyond 6 months if they want to maintain plan eligibility.

• Short-term travel medical policies may help, but these are not Medicare products and require separate discussion.

2025-Specific Issues to Watch For

New regulatory updates, shifting plan structures, and inflation-driven travel patterns are shaping how clients travel this year.

IRMAA Surcharges and International Income

Clients who spend long periods abroad may be drawing foreign income. In 2025, IRMAA thresholds are based on MAGI from 2023, but the impact is felt now. Guide clients to:

• Report any income that could trigger IRMAA.

• Use Social Security’s appeal process if income has changed significantly since 2023.

Medicare Part D’s Out-of-Pocket Cap Doesn’t Travel

The new $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap for Part D is beneficial—but only if the client is in the U.S. and using a plan-participating pharmacy. Overseas purchases won’t count.

Medicare Advantage Changes

In 2025, some Advantage plans reduced their supplemental travel benefits. Others have narrowed their provider networks. Clients may be unaware of this unless you walk them through their Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) or Evidence of Coverage (EOC).

Key Conversations You Should Be Leading

As a trusted Medicare agent, your greatest value is in the questions you ask. Use these prompts to reframe your client meetings around travel:

• “Do you have any extended trips planned this year?”

• “Will you be staying in one location, or moving between multiple areas?”

• “Do you expect to be away more than six months at a time?”

• “Are you planning any overseas travel or cruises this year?”

These questions help shift focus from premiums and perks to true coverage readiness.

What to Recommend Without Selling Insurance

Even without selling travel insurance directly, you can provide massive value:

• Encourage clients to check if their plan includes any foreign travel benefits.

• Suggest comparing the cost of a short-term travel medical plan (from a reputable source) if they plan to be abroad.

• Emphasize that travel needs are not one-size-fits-all—plans must match their location and duration.

• Make sure they carry Medicare cards, a plan ID card, and any documents needed for emergency reimbursements.

• For those taking medications abroad, advise them to bring a sufficient supply and a physician’s letter listing the drugs.

These insights don’t require you to sell a thing—but they strengthen your client relationships.

Timing Is Everything: When to Talk Travel

The best time to prepare clients for Medicare travel issues is well before departure.

• Enrollment Periods: Ask about future travel plans during the Initial Enrollment Period (IEP), Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), or Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment.

• Before ANOC Changes Take Effect: Review changes between October and December to determine if their travel needs still match their current plan.

• During Mid-Year Reviews: Especially helpful if a client mentions new plans for a vacation, extended visit, or relocation.

By proactively incorporating these checkpoints, you become an advisor—not just an agent.

Expand Your Value by Addressing the Travel Gap

Helping clients plan for travel isn’t about selling more—it’s about protecting what they already have. Medicare’s limitations on out-of-area and international coverage often surprise annuitants too late. You can change that.

When you integrate travel questions into your review process, you:

• Prevent avoidable claim denials.

• Reduce client dissatisfaction with Medicare.

• Build lasting loyalty by preparing them for real-world situations.

You’re not just protecting their health—you’re preserving their freedom.

Position Yourself as a Travel-Savvy Medicare Partner

If you want to be seen as more than an enrollment resource, start positioning yourself as someone who understands how lifestyle decisions impact Medicare coverage.

At BedrockMD, we help you do exactly that. Our platform empowers independent agents with personalized support, strategic client tools, and training that prepares you for these deeper-level conversations.

Sign up today to strengthen your relationships and retain more clients—because when they trust you with their travel concerns, they’ll trust you with everything else.