And are you sure you don't have a Medicare Advantage plan, rather than Medicare plus Medigap? Medicare Advantage is NOT Medicare, and each plan is different.

I do not know what I have, it's paid by my ex-employer and the coverage has not changed since I retired. I retired at 58, and from my perspective, there was absolutely no change in coverage when Medicare kicked in. If and when I receive a notice of change in coverage, I will pay more attention to the details.

If you don't know what you have, you are not qualified to give advice.

Did you sign up for Medicare when you turned 65? Do you pay a monthly premium to Medicare (minimum of $104 currently)? If not, you do not have Medicare. You appear to have an employer-provided group plan which covers retirees as well as active employees. Very nice for you, but your experience is irrelevant to anyone not on the same plan.

<i>Did you sign up for Medicare when you turned 65? Do you pay a monthly premium to Medicare (minimum of $104 currently)? If not, you do not have Medicare.</i>

I signed up for Medicare, my premium doubled this year because of income--I'm not complaining. As I pointed out, with the patchwork of medical insurance, it is difficult to be absolute in practice, even if theoretically the fine print is quite specific about inclusions and exclusions. Once the problem exists--having paid for medical care during travels--one can only try to see if reimbursement is possible.

I am grateful for this thread, it reminded me that I need to renew my annual travel insurance. Thanks.

There's no need to read the fine print on Medicare. There's NO coverage outside of the US states and controlled territories. There's no fine print, there's no submitting for reimbursement etc...

If you are depending on Medicare come up with a new plan now.

"I am under Medicare since I deal with a single medical agency, whatever the technical details that allow me to be reimbursed."-----Michael

If you didn't SIGN UP for Medicare, you don't have, and are not covered by, Medicare. Simply being over 65 does not qualify you.
They require this so that those folks who don't believe in govt health care (Amish? Christian Scientists?) don't get forced into it.

I signed up; but the switch in coverage was absolutely transparent. I do not believe that I would be charged the premium if I had not signed up, nor would I have a Medicare card in my wallet.