Medicaid Office

South Carolina Medicaid Income Limits

Updated August 2026

SCDHHS updates income limits when federal poverty levels change, typically in March each year. The figures below are from the SCDHHS Program Eligibility and Income Limits page, effective March 1, 2026.

South Carolina has not expanded Medicaid — income limits are very restrictive for adults

Because SC did not expand Medicaid under the ACA, the income limit for parents and caretaker relatives is 62% of the Federal Poverty Level — one of the lowest thresholds for that category in the Southeast. Adults without children do not qualify at any income level unless they are aged, blind, or disabled.

Healthy Connections income limits by coverage group (effective March 2026)

Parents/caretaker relatives

FPL %
62%
Monthly limit (family of 1)
$824.60
Monthly limit (family of 4)
$1,705.00

Children — Partners for Healthy Children

FPL %
208%
Monthly limit (family of 1)
$2,766.40
Monthly limit (family of 4)
$5,720.00

Pregnant women

FPL %
194%
Monthly limit (family of 1)
$2,580.20
Monthly limit (family of 4)
$5,335.00

Aged, Blind, or Disabled (ABD)

FPL %
100%
Monthly limit (family of 1)
$1,330.00
Monthly limit (family of 4)
$1,804.00 (family of 2)

Working disabled (with earned income)

FPL %
250%
Monthly limit (family of 1)
$3,325.00
Monthly limit (family of 4)
$6,875.00

Nursing facility / HCBS waivers

FPL %
300% FBR
Monthly limit (family of 1)
$2,982.00
Monthly limit (family of 4)
Individual program only

Breast and cervical cancer treatment

FPL %
200%
Monthly limit (family of 1)
$2,660.00
Monthly limit (family of 4)
$5,500.00

Asset limits for the Aged, Blind, or Disabled category

The ABD coverage group has resource limits in addition to income limits. Effective January 1, 2026, per SCDHHS:

  • Individual: $9,950 in countable resources
  • Couple: $14,910 in countable resources
  • Excluded resources: your primary home, one vehicle, household goods and personal items, burial funds up to certain limits

MAGI-based categories — including children, pregnant women, and parents/caretaker relatives — have no asset test. Savings and vehicles are not counted for these groups.

Parents at 62% FPL: why the limit is so low

South Carolina's 62% FPL threshold for parents and caretaker relatives reflects the state's pre-ACA eligibility rules. When Congress passed the ACA, states could choose to expand to 138% FPL for all adults — South Carolina chose not to. For a family of three in 2026, 62% FPL equates to roughly $1,411.53 per month in gross income, or about $16,938 annually.

A single parent earning above that threshold — even at minimum wage — generally cannot qualify for Healthy Connections unless they fall into another eligibility category. SCDHHS urges people who are unsure of their eligibility to apply anyway, since some situations qualify under categories that aren't obvious on first look.

Medicare Savings Programs (QMB) in South Carolina

South Carolina residents on Medicare with limited income and savings can get help with their Medicare costs through three Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs), even though Medicare itself doesn't offer this kind of assistance. These programs are funded through Medicaid, and in South Carolina you apply through Healthy Connections — the state's Medicaid agency at www.scdhhs.gov — not through Medicare or the Social Security Administration.

QMB

Situation
Individual
Monthly income limit
$1,350

QMB

Situation
Married couple
Monthly income limit
$1,824

SLMB

Situation
Individual
Monthly income limit
$1,616

SLMB

Situation
Married couple
Monthly income limit
$2,184

QI

Situation
Individual
Monthly income limit
$1,816

QI

Situation
Married couple
Monthly income limit
$2,455

The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program is the most generous tier. It pays the Medicare Part A premium for those who owe one, the full Part B premium of $202.90 per month in 2026, and every Medicare deductible, coinsurance, and copayment an enrollee would otherwise owe. Federal law prohibits any provider — Medicaid-participating or not — from billing a QMB enrollee for those costs, no exceptions.

Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary (SLMB) and Qualifying Individual (QI) enrollees receive a narrower benefit: help with the Part B premium only, not the cost-sharing protection QMB provides. QI funding is capped annually and awarded first-come, first-served, so it pays to apply early in the year. Notably, South Carolina's $9,950 individual and $14,910 couple resource limits for these Medicare Savings Programs are the same figures used for the state's Aged, Blind, or Disabled Medicaid category described above. All three MSP tiers also come with automatic enrollment in Extra Help, the Medicare Part D subsidy that caps 2026 covered-drug costs at $12.65 per prescription.

South Carolina Medicaid (Healthy Connections)

Visit the official South Carolina Medicaid website

Income Limits in Nearby States

Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia Alabama

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