Are you moving to California? If yes, then you must be excited. Because, after all, moving to a new state is always exciting, especially if you have some amazing reasons why you are doing it. Yet, as exciting as it may be, we cannot fail to mention that it comes with a kind of an administrative checklist that you will need to get in order, so as to ensure a smooth transition. And that is, without a doubt, the most tedious and the most frustrating part, especially if you don’t know how to do it all.
For one thing, when handling those administrative details, you will absolutely want to check whether you can move Medicare with you, or whether it has to stay behind. In other words, you want to understand if you can actually transfer your coverage when moving to a different state, and, more specifically, California. Click this to better understand Medicare in general.
Clearly, thus, you have some important questions on your mind right now. In short, you want to understand whether you can actually transfer Medicare when moving to California. And then, if the answer winds up being yes, which we will see shortly, you want to understand how to do it the right way. Let us, thus, start answering those questions for you right now.
What Is Medicare?
Not before we do a quick recap of what Medicare actually is, though. In the simplest words possible, we are talking about a federal health insurance program for people that are 65 or older, as well as for younger individuals that are dealing with certain disabilities, and diseases such as ASL or Lou Gherig’s. There are different parts of these plans, including the hospital (part A) and medical insurance (B) parts, both of which are managed by the actual government, allowing you to see any doctor or any hospital that actually accepts Medicare anywhere in the USA.
But then, there are also private plans, that include things like Medicare Advantage (C), as well as Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (part D). These are actually offered by private healthcare insurance companies, and they can, therefore, vary from one state to another. So, that is a distinction that you need to understand before going any further.
Can You Transfer It When Moving to California?
What does all of this mean in the context of your question, though? To cut right to the chase, the parts A and B are, as we have mentioned, federal policies, meaning that they will be active, and you’ll be able to get the coverage no matter where it is that you are moving. This means that, when we are talking about your idea to transfer Medicare to another state, and the possibility of doing that, we are actually talking about parts C and D. Because, those are often state specific, and things work differently when they are in question, so we have to get into a bit more details.
Let us talk about Part C first, that is, the Medicare Advantage Plans. To put things simply, this is a regional plan, meaning that it serves specific counties and networks. And further meaning that you may face some challenges when trying to transfer your plan. Why? Because, depending on where in California you are moving, Plan C may not be available. Nevertheless, there is an option of you switching to Parts A or B, or to a different Part C solution in your specific region.
Now, moving on to Part D, this is what you need to know. These plans are also state and region specific, and they are typically not transferrable. This means that you won’t be able to rely on your old plan when you move to California, and that you will, instead, need to choose a new one. As you can see, thus, the answer to the question above depends on the type of plan you have, which is why it is not the same for everyone.
How to Do It Right?
The above should have given you a better idea about what parts are transferrable, and what parts aren’t. So, what you want to know next is how to go through this entire process successfully and keep relying on the Medicare that can be transferred to California, as well as choose and get new plans when that isn’t exactly an option.
Perhaps this could also be of some help here: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/medicare-moving-to-another-state
Anyway, the first thing you have to do is contact your Medicare provider and let them know that you are moving to California, and it is a good idea to inform them in advance, because you have up to four months to enroll in a new Medicare coverage plan after your move. Of course, when you have to choose new plans, you should take the time to carefully review and compare them, as well as find the right new providers. This process can be a bit complicated, for sure, but things get much easier when you are working with the right providers.