Does Medicare cover me outside the United States?
Read the guide: Travel Medical Insurance: The Complete Guide
What Medicare counts as outside the United States
The 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa all count as inside. Everywhere else is outside: Canada, Mexico, every island in the Caribbean that is not a US territory, and all of Europe and Asia. A hospital in any of those places sends the bill to you.
The four times Original Medicare pays abroad
Medicare’s own page lists three situations where it will pay a foreign hospital, and one rule for cruise ships. Here they are in plain words.
| When Original Medicare pays in a foreign hospital | The catch |
|---|---|
| You are in the United States when the emergency happens and a foreign hospital is closer than the nearest US hospital that can treat you | You have to be inside the US at the time |
| You are driving through Canada by the most direct route between Alaska and another state, and the Canadian hospital is closer | Only on that route, and without an unreasonable delay |
| You live in the US and a foreign hospital is closer to your home than the nearest US hospital that can treat you | You have to live near the border |
| You see the ship’s doctor while a cruise ship is in a US port or no more than six hours from one | Once the ship is more than six hours out, nothing |
Even in those cases you pay the same deductibles and coinsurance you would pay at home, the foreign hospital does not have to file the claim, and Medicare Part D does not pay for a prescription filled outside the United States.
Medigap: the 80 percent benefit and where it stops
Medigap plans C, D, F, G, M and N include a benefit called foreign travel emergency care. It pays 80 percent of the bill for emergency care that begins in the first 60 days of a trip, after a $250 deductible, up to $50,000 in your lifetime. Plans A, B, K and L do not have it.
That benefit is real, and it is also thin. On a $40,000 hospital stay you pay the $250 deductible and 20 percent of the rest, about $8,200. A second big bill in another year may find the $50,000 lifetime limit already used. And nothing in any Medigap plan pays to fly you home by air ambulance, which is the bill that most often passes $100,000.
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See plans & pricesAbout 60 seconds. Nothing to sign up for.Medicare Advantage
Some Medicare Advantage plans cover emergency care anywhere in the world, with their own limits and copays, and some do not. Call the number on your card and ask two questions: does the plan cover emergency care outside the United States, and what is the limit. Ask for the answer in writing.
What the plans say
Every plan we compare pays for emergency medical care abroad up to a limit that is set for each trip, and every one includes medical evacuation. The medical limits run from $10,000 to $500,000 and the evacuation limits from $50,000 to $1,000,000. For a traveler on Medicare we suggest at least $100,000 of medical and $250,000 of evacuation, and $250,000 with $500,000 for a cruise or a remote trip. A package plan keeps the same limit at every age; the price goes up instead. If you have a health condition, buy within 14 days of your first trip payment and 53 of the 54 plans will cover it too. The travel medical insurance guide shows the plans with the highest limits.
| What you have | Hospital bill abroad | Flight home by air ambulance | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original Medicare (Parts A and B) | Nothing, apart from three border cases and a ship within six hours of a US port | Nothing | None, because it does not pay |
| Medigap plans C, D, F, G, M, N | 80 percent of emergency care that begins in the first 60 days of a trip, after a $250 deductible | Nothing | $50,000 for your lifetime |
| Medicare Advantage | Some plans cover emergency care worldwide, some do not; check yours | Rarely | Set by your plan |
| A travel insurance plan | Up to the plan’s medical limit, $10,000 to $500,000 on the plans we compare | Up to the evacuation limit, $50,000 to $1,000,000 | Per trip, not per lifetime |
Questions people also ask
Does Medicare cover me on a cruise?
Only while the ship is in a US port or no more than six hours from one, and only for a doctor who is allowed to practice on the ship. Once the ship is more than six hours out, Medicare pays nothing, and a hospital in a foreign port bills you directly.
Does Medicare cover me in Canada or Mexico?
No, unless one of the three border cases applies, such as driving through Canada on the way to Alaska. A hospital in Toronto or Cancun sends the bill to you, not to Medicare.
I have Medigap Plan G. Do I still need travel insurance?
Plan G pays 80 percent of emergency care, up to $50,000 in your lifetime, and nothing for the flight home. A travel insurance plan pays the hospital up to its own limit, includes the evacuation, and starts fresh on every trip. For a trip abroad, most people with Plan G still buy one.
Related answers: Can I get travel insurance if I have a pre-existing condition? · senior travel insurance guide
Sources: Medicare.gov, Travel outside the U.S.; Medicare.gov, What Medigap covers and Compare Medigap plan benefits; the 54 plans on the CoverTrip comparison, September 2026.
See every top plan priced for your trip
Enter your trip once and every top plan comes back side by side, priced for your dates. Same price as buying direct.
See plans & pricesAbout 60 seconds. Nothing to sign up for.Related
Damian TysdalDamian Tysdal is the founder of CoverTrip, and is a licensed agent for travel insurance (MA 1883287). He believes travel insurance should be easier to understand, and started the first travel insurance blog in 2006. About CoverTrip.