Best Tips for Snowbirds and Part-Year Florida Residents Finding a Doctor

This one question decides most of what follows. With Original Medicare, Medicare.gov says you can use any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare, anywhere in the U.S. With a Medicare Advantage plan, you may need to use doctors in the plan's network and service area for non-emergency care. Check your card and your plan documents before you pack.

• Original Medicare: any provider that takes Medicare, nationwide
• Medicare Advantage: network and service area rules apply
• Questions: 1-800-MEDICARE

Medicare's own booklet explains the difference. In an HMO, you generally must get care from network providers, except for emergency care, out-of-area urgently needed services and temporary out-of-area dialysis. In a PPO, you can usually see out-of-network providers for covered services, but you will usually pay more. Some plans offer non-emergency out-of-network coverage at a higher cost. Call your plan and ask plainly: "Is a primary care doctor in Polk County covered while I am in Florida for five months?"

• HMO: network only for routine care
• PPO: out of network usually costs more
• Emergency care is covered in or out of network

Plans are built around a service area, so your city name alone does not tell you much. Near Davenport, the Four Corners area sits where Lake, Orange, Osceola and Polk counties meet, and homes a few miles apart can be in different counties. Give your plan your exact Florida address. If a move takes you out of your plan's service area, Medicare notes you may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period to switch plans.

• Four Corners touches four counties
• Use your street address, not your city
• Moving out of a service area can open a Special Enrollment Period

Medicare drug plans contract with in-network pharmacies, and some have preferred pharmacies that cost less. Out-of-network pharmacies usually charge more, and you may have to pay the full price and send your receipts to the plan. Two options work well for part-year residents: a national chain that is in your plan's network in both states, or a mail-order program, which Medicare says can send up to a 3-month supply to your home.

• Mail order: up to a 3-month supply
• Check that both home pharmacies are in network
• Out of network usually costs more

Split care is where things slip. Decide which doctor holds your full picture and ask the other office to send visit notes and lab results there. Carry a current medication list, your recent labs and your allergies on paper or on your phone. If either office offers a patient portal, sign up before you leave so you can see results from the other state. When a dose changes in one place, tell the other office the same week.

• One doctor holds the full chart
• Ask for notes to be sent after each visit
• Keep your own copy of labs and med list

A video visit is treated as happening where you are sitting, not where your doctor is. The Center for Connected Health Policy explains that a provider typically needs a license in the patient's state. So your doctor up north may not be able to see you by video while you are in Florida, and a Florida doctor may not be able to see you once you head home. Ask each office what it can do before you leave.

• Telehealth follows the patient's location
• Rules vary by state and profession
• Ask each office before you travel

The National Hurricane Center lists the Atlantic season as June 1 to November 30. Many snowbirds arrive after it ends, but anyone who stays into early summer or returns in the fall overlaps it. Florida Statute 252.358 requires insurers to allow early refills of at least a 30-day supply when your county is under a hurricane warning or a state of emergency. Our hurricane season medication guide covers the details.

• Season: June 1 to November 30
• Florida law allows early 30-day refills in a declared emergency
• Keep a two-week cushion of daily medicine

The worst time to look for a Florida doctor is the week you get sick. Book a first visit soon after you arrive, while you feel well, so the practice has your history, a baseline blood pressure and your medication list on file. If you are on Medicare, a Medicare Annual Wellness Visit is a good way to set a prevention plan with the doctor who will be your Florida home base. Our list of doctors accepting new patients in Davenport is a place to start.

• Book a first visit early in the season
• Bring records, meds and insurance cards
• Confirm the practice takes your plan