Seeing your doctor in a disaster or emergency

I have Original Medicare

If you have Original Medicare, you can always go to any doctor or hospital that accepts Medicare. This is true even if you have to leave your city or state.

Call us at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to get more information about seeing doctors during a disaster or emergency.

I have a Medicare Advantage Plan or other Medicare health plan

Your plan may make temporary changes to its rules when health plan services get disrupted during an declared emergency or disaster. Check your plan's website or contact your plan to find out if: 

  • Your plan must allow you to see certain doctors or go to certain hospitals that accept Medicare patients, even if the doctor or hospital isn't in your plan's network and your health care need isn't an emergency. If you have problems using an out-of-network doctor or provider, contact your plan for help.
  • Your plan can't make you get a referral for out-of-network services.
  • If you usually pay more for out-of-network or out-of-area care, your plan will apply the in-network rate. If your plan agrees to apply the in-network rate and later on you go to an out-of-area or out-of-network provider and pay more for the service, save the receipt and ask your plan to give you a refund for the difference.

Contact your plan as soon as possible to find out if there are other changes in plan rules and to find out when the emergency or disaster will be over. Generally, you can find your plan's contact information on your plan membership card. Or, you can search for your plan's contact information. You can also call us at 1-800-MEDICARE.

Go back to the Getting care & drugs in disasters or emergencies main page.