Does your health plan cover you when you travel abroad?

The short answer

Often not fully, and sometimes not at all. As of October 22, 2026:

• Original Medicare almost never pays for care outside the U.S. The narrow exceptions mostly matter near the Canadian or Mexican border, plus some care on a cruise ship close to a U.S. port.
• Medigap Plans C, D, F, G, M and N pay 80% of emergency care abroad after a $250 yearly deductible, up to $50,000 over your lifetime, if the care begins in the first 60 days of your trip.
• Medicare Advantage plans generally don't cover care abroad, but some add emergency and urgent care as an extra benefit.
• Medi-Cal covers nothing outside the U.S. except an emergency that requires hospital admission in Canada or Mexico.
• Job-based, Covered California and other private plans vary. Some cover emergencies abroad, but you may have to pay first and file a claim.
• Most plans won't pay to fly you home by air ambulance. Travel medical insurance, evacuation coverage, or both can fill the gaps.

What counts as "abroad"

For Medicare, the United States means the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa. Everywhere else, including Mexico and Canada, is outside the U.S. Other plans may draw the line differently, so look for "outside the United States" or "worldwide" in your plan's coverage document.

Coverage at a glance

A starting point only. Your plan document has the final word.

If you have Original Medicare

Medicare may pay for a hospital stay abroad in only three situations. In each, a foreign hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat you:

1. You are in the U.S. when a medical emergency happens.
2. You are traveling through Canada between Alaska and another state, by the most direct route and without unreasonable delay, when an emergency happens. Medicare decides case by case what "without unreasonable delay" means.
3. You live in the U.S. and the foreign hospital is closer to your home. This applies whether or not it is an emergency.

On a cruise ship, Medicare may cover medically necessary care if the doctor is legally allowed to practice on the ship and the ship is in a U.S. port, or no more than six hours from one. Farther out, Medicare doesn't cover care on the ship.

Even then, coverage is limited. Part A covers the stay only if a doctor formally admits you as an inpatient. Part B covers doctor and ambulance services immediately before and during that covered stay. Medicare won't pay for a return ambulance trip home or doctor visits abroad after the stay ends. It doesn't cover dialysis abroad except during a covered hospital stay, and no Medicare plan can cover prescriptions bought outside the U.S. Medicare also doesn't cover medical evacuation.

You may have to pay up front. Foreign hospitals aren't required to file Medicare claims. If yours doesn't, you pay and then send Medicare the "Patient's Request for Medical Payment" form (CMS-1490S). Medicare claims generally must be filed within 12 months of the date of care.

Before you go: Part D drug plans cover vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, including some travel vaccines such as yellow fever and Japanese encephalitis, with no copayment or deductible. Ask your drug plan and the clinic how to use this.

If you have a Medigap policy

Medigap (Medicare Supplement Insurance) is private insurance that works alongside Original Medicare. Standard Plans C, D, F, G, M and N include a foreign travel emergency benefit that:

• Pays 80% of the billed charges for certain medically necessary emergency care outside the U.S.
• Starts after a $250 deductible each year.
• Has a $50,000 lifetime limit.
• Applies only to care that begins during the first 60 days of a trip and that Medicare doesn't otherwise cover.

Plans A, B, K and L don't include it. Plans C and F are available only to people eligible for Medicare before January 1, 2020. Older Plans E, H, I and J, if bought before June 1, 2010, still include the benefit. Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin organize Medigap differently, so check your own policy there.

Two cautions before changing policies for a trip. Medigap works only with Original Medicare; it adds nothing if you have Medicare Advantage. And outside your six-month Medigap Open Enrollment Period, which doesn't repeat each year, an insurer may be able to turn you down or charge more because of your health unless you have a guaranteed issue right or your state offers another window. Free counseling is listed at the end of this page.

If you have a Medicare Advantage plan

Medicare Advantage plans generally don't cover care outside the U.S., but some offer an extra benefit for emergency and urgently needed care abroad. Check your plan's Evidence of Coverage (the long document that explains your benefits) or call member services before every trip, and ask:

• Is emergency or urgent care abroad covered, and is there a dollar limit?
• What will I pay, and will you pay the foreign hospital or reimburse me?
• Do you cover an ambulance abroad or transport back to the U.S.?

Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7, 2026, for 2027 coverage. If you travel abroad often, compare this benefit. Medicare Advantage choices for 2027 explains what else to weigh.

If you have Medi-Cal

California's rule is short: Medi-Cal covers no services outside the United States, except emergency services that require hospitalization in Canada or Mexico. So:

• An emergency in Mexico or Canada that leads to a hospital admission may be covered, if the hospital accepts Medi-Cal and meets its provider rules.
• A clinic visit, a pharmacy purchase, or an emergency room visit without admission is not covered under this rule, even in Mexico or Canada.
• Care in any other country is not covered.

If you have both Medicare and Medi-Cal, Medi-Cal won't fill Medicare's gaps abroad beyond that narrow exception.

Before you go, call the member services number on your Medi-Cal plan card, or the DHCS Medi-Cal Helpline at (800) 541-5555. Ask how a bill from a hospital in Mexico or Canada would be handled and what papers to keep. If you will be away a long time, ask your county Medi-Cal office whether the trip could affect your coverage. For more on the program, see Medi-Cal in plain language.

If you have a job-based, Covered California or other private plan

These plans have no single rule. Some cover emergencies abroad, but the details vary, and care abroad usually requires payment at the time of service, with reimbursement requested later. Most plans don't pay for an air ambulance back to the United States.

Check your plan's Evidence of Coverage (or certificate of coverage) and its Summary of Benefits and Coverage, a short standard summary you can request from the plan. Then call member services and ask:

• Do you cover emergency care outside the U.S.? Urgent care? Anything else?
• Must I, or someone with me, notify you within a set time if I am admitted?
• Do you pay the foreign hospital, or do I pay and file a claim? What documents do you need, such as an itemized bill, proof of payment or a translation? What is the deadline?
• Do you cover ambulance rides, medical evacuation or a flight home?
• Is there a 24-hour line for members abroad?
• Are prescriptions filled abroad covered?

Note the date, the name of the person you spoke with and any reference number, or ask for the answer in writing. If you are choosing between plans, see how to compare two health plans beyond the premium. If you have TRICARE, VA health care, or a federal or union plan, ask that program directly how it handles care abroad.

What travel insurance covers

"Travel insurance" can mean different products:

• Trip cancellation or interruption repays prepaid travel costs if you cancel or cut a trip short for a covered reason. It usually doesn't pay for medical care abroad.
• Travel medical insurance is a short-term policy that pays for care if you get sick or hurt while traveling.
• Medical evacuation insurance pays for emergency transport to a suitable hospital and, if needed, home. The insurer, not the traveler, decides whether evacuation is needed.

Some policies bundle all three. Credit card travel benefits vary widely, and nearly all require a formal claim, so read your card's benefits guide rather than assuming it covers medical care.

Before you buy, check:

• Existing conditions. Conditions that needed a hospital stay or direct medical treatment in the 90 days before departure are often excluded.
• Age. CDC advises travelers over 75 to start looking early, because coverage can be harder to find.
• Exclusions. Ask about high-risk activities, mental health emergencies, pregnancy complications, civil unrest, war, terrorism and natural disasters.
• Approval and payment. Ask whether you must call before getting care, whether the policy pays hospitals directly or reimburses you, and whether it pays first or only after your regular insurance.
• Help line. Ask whether there is a 24-hour assistance line with medical staff.

Claims are not automatic. CDC's guidance for clinicians cites a study in which insurers paid only two-thirds of claims in full, mainly refusing for existing illness or poor records of expenses. Keep every bill and receipt. Your state insurance department can answer questions about a travel policy; in California, that is the Department of Insurance.

When extra coverage is worth considering

Only you can weigh cost against risk, but these situations make a stronger case:

The case is weaker if your plan already covers emergencies abroad at a cost you can manage and the trip is short. Even then, most plans won't pay for an air ambulance home.

Before you go

• Find your plan's written rule for care abroad, and any notice or claim deadlines.
• Pack your insurance card, claim forms and the plan's number for calls from abroad.
• Plan how you would pay a hospital deposit.
• Plan your medicines with medication safety during travel.
• Check vaccines and destination advice on CDC's Travelers' Health site.
• U.S. citizens: enroll in the State Department's free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).

The before-you-go travel coverage checklist is a fuller, printable version.

If you get sick or hurt abroad

Then:

1. Call your insurer or travel assistance line as soon as you can; some require notice or approval.
2. Keep itemized bills, receipts, proof of payment, test results and the discharge summary.
3. At home, share the records with your regular clinician.
4. File claims promptly. For Medicare, use form CMS-1490S within 12 months.
5. If a claim is denied, ask for the reason in writing and appeal.

Where to get free help

• Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227); TTY 1-877-486-2048.
• California HICAP (free, confidential Medicare counseling): 1-800-434-0222.
• Medi-Cal: your plan's member services, the DHCS Medi-Cal Helpline at (800) 541-5555, or the Medi-Cal Managed Care Ombudsman at (888) 452-8609.
• California health plan problems: complain to your plan first. If it isn't resolved, generally after 30 days or sooner if urgent, call the Department of Managed Health Care Help Center at 1-888-466-2219.
• Travel insurance questions in California: Department of Insurance, 1-800-927-4357.

Sources

1. Travel outside the U.S. — Medicare.gov, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, accessed October 22, 2026.
2. Medicare Coverage Outside the United States (fact sheet, CMS Product No. 11037) — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, April 2026.
3. Medicare & You 2027 — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2027 edition.
4. Choosing a Medigap Policy — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 2026 edition.
5. Compare Medigap plan benefits — Medicare.gov, accessed October 22, 2026.
6. Claims — Medicare.gov, accessed October 22, 2026.
7. Cal. Code Regs. tit. 22, § 51006, Out-of-State Coverage — California Department of Health Care Services regulation, as reproduced by the Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed October 22, 2026.
8. All County Welfare Directors Letter No. 15-23: Residency for Out-of-State Students — California Department of Health Care Services, July 9, 2015.
9. Contact Us (Individuals) — California Department of Health Care Services, accessed October 22, 2026.
10. Medicine and Health — U.S. Department of State, last updated August 11, 2025.
11. Travel Insurance — U.S. Department of State, last updated August 11, 2025.
12. Crisis Response and Evacuations — U.S. Department of State, last updated August 11, 2025.
13. Travel Insurance — CDC Travelers' Health, last updated May 27, 2026.
14. Travel Insurance, Travel Health Insurance, and Medical Evacuation Insurance — CDC Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel, 2026 edition.
15. Travelers' Health — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed October 22, 2026.
16. Should I Get Travel Insurance? — National Association of Insurance Commissioners, June 16, 2026.
17. Summary of Benefits and Coverage (glossary) — HealthCare.gov, accessed October 22, 2026.
18. Medicare Counseling (HICAP) — California Department of Aging, accessed October 22, 2026.
19. File a Complaint — California Department of Managed Health Care, accessed October 22, 2026.
20. Getting Help — California Department of Insurance, accessed October 22, 2026.