How to Get Health Insurance Quotes in South Carolina

Last updated November 3, 2026 · By Frank Caballero, licensed health insurance broker, NPN 21032307

South Carolina at a glance

What a quote takes

1. Book a 15-minute call by phone or video, in English or Spanish. There is no fee.
2. Have ready: your South Carolina ZIP code, everyone's ages, your doctors (in Greenville–Spartanburg, Columbia or elsewhere), prescriptions, a rough income estimate for the HealthCare.gov side and your health history for the private side.
3. Frank prices private plans from your health answers and Marketplace plans on HealthCare.gov from your income, and checks each network for your doctors.
4. Next, a private application goes to the insurer for an underwriting decision; if approved, coverage can start the first of the next month. HealthCare.gov enrollment happens in open enrollment or a special enrollment period, with Frank's help.

Private plan vs. the Marketplace in South Carolina

Short-term plans are sold in South Carolina as a bridge of a few months under federal rules and do not cover pre-existing conditions. The private PPO plans we quote are medically underwritten, year-round plans.

South Carolina rules that shape a quote

South Carolina buyers enroll through HealthCare.gov. The state's continuation law covers insured group plans and lasts the rest of the month coverage ends plus six months, after six months of coverage, at the full group premium. South Carolina's insurance department adopted the federal short-term limits in 2024, three months initial and four months total, replacing its older 11- and 33-month limits. Final 2027 individual rates average about 22 percent higher, among the largest increases on this list, while small-group plans rise a comparatively modest 8.9 percent.

Who usually starts with which

Common self-employed work in South Carolina: Hospitality and tourism workers along the Grand Strand and in Charleston, construction trades, real estate agents, manufacturing and automotive-supplier contractors in the Upstate, and port and trucking contractors in Charleston.

South Carolina counted 530,402 small businesses in the SBA's 2025 profile, 99.4 percent of all firms, and they employ about 43 percent of the state's workers. Roughly 440,000 have no employees. The biggest groups of nonemployer firms are personal and repair services, at about 57,000, followed by professional and technical services, administrative and support work, real estate, transportation and construction, each with 45,000 to 52,000 owners. Veterans stand out here: they make up about 6 percent of workers but own about 8 percent of South Carolina businesses.

South Carolina recorded 587,567 HealthCare.gov plan selections for 2026, a drop of about 7 percent from 631,948 in 2025. Roughly 89.2 percent of the 2026 group received an advance premium tax credit, which means about 10.8 percent, some 63,500 people, paid full price, more than twice the 4.7 percent share of a year before. Census income data for 2024 put about 35.1 percent of South Carolina households at $100,000 or more.

Business owners with employees

South Carolina law defines a small employer as one with no more than 50 employees that has at least one employee on the first day of the plan year. Final 2027 small-group filings, approved almost exactly as submitted, average about 8.9 percent, a fraction of the 22 percent individual increase. That gap is the main story for South Carolina owners this year. When counting employees, affiliated companies, and companies that can file a combined state tax return, are treated as one employer, so splitting a business does not create two small groups.

Leaving a job or group plan

South Carolinians leaving COBRA or state continuation use HealthCare.gov. When continuation ends, you have 60 days to pick a plan, and applying before your last covered day lets the new plan start the first of the following month. Ending COBRA early by choice, or by skipping payments, does not open a special enrollment window. South Carolina's state continuation runs only about six months, so mark its end date the day it starts.

If you are self-employed in South Carolina, premiums for you and your family are often deductible on your federal return, whichever kind of plan you choose. General information, not tax advice — confirm with your CPA based on your specific entity structure.

2027 rates in South Carolina

Marketplace premiums in South Carolina are set to rise 22.1% on average for 2027 in finalized filings from 6 insurers, with small-group plans up about 8.9%; the South Carolina 2027 premium increase page has the details.

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