Medicare requires “permanent” residential address

[Carriage Boy]

Quote: "A for instance: Every bank and credit card company is required to know there customer's domicile address, an actual physical address. It's in the same law referred to above.

I have three credit cards, one from AmEx and two Visa cards from other banks. Twice in 10 years I got a pro forma letter from AmEx asking to please tell them my actual physical address since they were required to have one on file for all their customers according to Federal Law XXZZZXX.XX"
------------------------


We've used a mail service out of Pensacola for 20 years and have had some problem with our (lack of) address since around 2010 when the "Know your customer" law (CFR-2010-title31-vol1-sec103-121) went into effect. The law allows, but does not require, banks to accept next-of-kin as surrogate physical addresses. You can have your statements sent to a different address (our mail forwarding address) but these guys need something "sticks and bricks" to put into their system.

Whenever we deal with a new-to-us bank we are upfront with them and inform them of our "homeless" situation and ask if that option in the law is something their company embraces. Some do, some don't but we figure it's better to address the problem upfront.

Our DL's, SS cards and Medicare carry our mail forwarding street address with our box number listed as "#XXXX". It seems to help to avoid anything with "PO Box" associated with it.

[Chotu]

Along the same lines, I’ve had difficulty signing up for health insurance. The market is in your domicile state. From what I have understood, and I may be wrong, is you need to have a primary care physician in that domicile area, and you are only eligible for services in that area. How does that help when you are traveling? Has anyone solved this one?

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by Carriage Boy

Quote: It seems to help to avoid anything with "PO Box" associated with it.

Here in Canada the term "PO Box" is reserved for only the boxes in a government post office. Mail forwarders or any other businesses CANNOT use the term. So you have to go with "Apt. no." or "Unit", or just "#" or some such thing. It works just fine.

[Cheechako]

Use a friend's or relative's address. You dont need all that Medicare junk mail coming to your boat anyway. Go paperless as much as possible.

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Along the same lines, I’ve had difficulty signing up for health insurance. The market is in your domicile state. From what I have understood, and I may be wrong, is you need to have a primary care physician in that domicile area, and you are only eligible for services in that area. How does that help when you are traveling? Has anyone solved this one?

It’s used to determine what is or is in network
Out of network costs will be higher to you

[Mike OReilly]

Canadian here, but same issue. All our government services/functions are tied to an actual address: healthcare, driver's license, taxes, voter registration, library card, etc... Same for financial services like credit cards, bank accounts, etc. They all hate homeless people.

Our solution is to have our permanent address be the same as my sister's.

[Fortytwo]

https://www.virtualpostmail.com/
Since 2010…

[bkrizmanic]

I use ipostal with no problems

[gonesail]

medicare wants you to live somewhere. a permanent address. this is where you will have access to medical providers. we have the same problem when we leave town for a few months. then it has to be an emergency before medicare kicks in. we are looking into options.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Canadian here, but same issue. All our government services/functions are tied to an actual address: healthcare, driver's license, taxes, voter registration, library card, etc... Same for financial services like credit cards, bank accounts, etc. They all hate homeless people.

Our solution is to have our permanent address be the same as my sister's.

Library cards!!! This is my biggest gripe. I miss being eligible for one. I wish they had more programs for out of towners at libraries. I’d be happy to pay a monthly subscription to use a library in a different town.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Library cards!!! This is my biggest gripe. I miss being eligible for one. I wish they had more programs for out of towners at libraries. I’d be happy to pay a monthly subscription to use a library in a different town.

Yup, I'd be lost without my card. I've always got a book on loan via download.

One of the benefits of house sitting through the winter months is, I end up with an address that I can use at the local library. I've collected a few library cards this way. But yes, it would be worth it even I had to pay. I love libraries!

[salty sailor]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Along the same lines, I’ve had difficulty signing up for health insurance. The market is in your domicile state. From what I have understood, and I may be wrong, is you need to have a primary care physician in that domicile area, and you are only eligible for services in that area. How does that help when you are traveling? Has anyone solved this one?

Since our "residential address" is SBI, my wife uses FL as our home address when signing up for healthcare.gov.

[salty sailor]

Originally Posted by gonesail

medicare wants you to live somewhere. a permanent address. this is where you will have access to medical providers. we have the same problem when we leave town for a few months. then it has to be an emergency before medicare kicks in. we are looking into options.

I am on Medicare, no supplemental insurance, and it works everywhere. Our address is FL (SBI), but have used it in various states without issue and without an emergency.

[rmlarson1098]

Originally Posted by OrignalBudman

My wife is stumped. That’s saying something because she spent 30 years managing a State Medicaid program for Aetna.

We’re going through the annual B.S. with Medicare’s open enrollment period. The question no one we’ve spoken with can answer is what to do about a permanent residential address, which Medicare requires.

Our mailing address is USGlobalMail - they scan our mail to PDFs and email them to us. That works fine and won’t change. But no one at Medicare knows how to deal with long term cruisers who live the transient lifestyle.

Anyone else deal with this issue? What have you discovered?

In the States consider Escapees. Choose between Livingston, TX, Florida, or South Dakota. Street addresses are provided; in Texas you'll 'live' on Rainbow Dr. in Livingston.
I know of very few situations where that hasn't worked. Except for a boat and a RV, we haven't owned property in the U.S. in more than a dozen years.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by salty sailor

Since our "residential address" is SBI, my wife uses FL as our home address when signing up for healthcare.gov.

Ok, but if you are spending the summer cruising New England, can you see doctors or get treated for an emergency in Maine under your Florida health insurance?