I live in different states during the year. My summer home is in a northern state; my winter home is in a southern state. Where do I sign up for health coverage? And if I sign up for a plan in one state, how do I find in-network health providers in the other state?

You should buy coverage in the state where you officially reside. Most states consider you a resident if you intend to make that state your permanent home. So-called “snowbirds” may own a second home and live part of the year in another state, but their official state of residence is where they spend most of the year, where they pay taxes, where they register their cars, or are registered to vote.

If you are buying coverage in your state of residency but spend a significant amount of time in a different state, you may want to explore plans offered by insurers that use a national provider network so that you could find participating providers in more than one state. You could also explore insurers that arrange to cover as in-network other insurers’ network providers. (For example, some, though not all “multi-state” plans, and some, though not all “multi-state” plans have such agreements.) You could also evaluate what out-of-network coverage, if any, your plan offers.