I only have 30-day prescriptions, but will be traveling to Europe for 6 weeks, will my Part D plan provide early refills before my trip?
Traveling with your Medicare plan · updated May 19, 2025
Important: Your Medicare plan may only grant your vacation override for a 30 or 31-day refill of maintenance drugs just once in a calendar year.
Not all medications may be filled in advance using a Vacation Override - or may need additional approvals.
Some medications that are prone to overuse may be controlled (such as pain medications) and excluded from your plan's vacation override process. Other medications that may be less-controlled may still require additional information or approvals before your plan will provide a vacation override.
How to ask for a Vacation Override
You can contact your Medicare plan's Member Services department and ask for assistance - and be sure to call well in advance of your travel date. Again, some prescription drugs require additional approvals (since the medications are controlled on a state or federal level) and may delay the approval process.
In addition, your Medicare plan may require proof of your upcoming international travel and require you to submit travel documentation such as airline tickets, lodging reservations "as evidence to substantiate your travel activities (for a travel refill request of over a month supply)." Some plans may require you to submit a "Prescription Advance Purchase Request Form" that includes your prescribing doctor's contact information. Obtaining a prescription for an extended maintenance drug supply beyond a Vacation Override
If you need prescriptions for a longer period than available through your plan's vacation override process, you should consider asking your prescribing doctor for a 90-day prescription for your medications and you can use your plan’s 90-day mail order option – assuming a 90-day prescription satisfies any usage management restrictions (such as prior authorization (PA) or quantity limit (QL) restrictions).
Question: Can you purchase medications outside the United States and ask your Medicare Part D plan for reimbursement?
You can always ask, but... If you are traveling and need medications you can always purchase the medications yourself, save the receipts and ask your Medicare Part D plan for reimbursement when you return - although your plan may likely deny the reimbursement request.
Check your Medicare Part D plan's Evidence of Coverage (EOC) document for more about using a non-network pharmacy and you may find text such as: "[The Medicare plan] cannot pay for any stolen medications or prescriptions that are filled by pharmacies outside the United States and territories, even for a medical emergency, for example on a cruise ship." (See your EOC Chapter 3, Section 2.5)
Purchasing International Travel Insurance
Another solution to long-term international drug coverage would be to purchase separate foreign travel insurance that includes prescription coverage. For more information, you can contact a specialized insurance company such as Petersen International Underwriters (https://www.piu.org/health-insurance) or International Medical Group (https://www.imglobal.com).
Important: Remember to travel with any prescription (or healthcare) documentation so that you can have prescriptions filled when you are outside of the United States. In other words, be sure to have copies of your prescriptions as you travel.