South Carolina Medicaid Office

Healthy Connections and SCDHHS

Healthy Connections is the Medicaid program for South Carolina, administered by the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) — a Medicaid-focused agency. SCDHHS itself notes that in South Carolina, vital and immunization records, healthcare regulations and permitting, and programs like SNAP and TANF are overseen by different agencies. That structural separation means a Healthy Connections application starts at SCDHHS but a SNAP application starts somewhere else.

What Healthy Connections is, in SCDHHS's own framing

SCDHHS describes Healthy Connections as a medical assistance program that helps pay for some or all medical bills for many people who cannot afford medical care. The agency lists seven populations as typically eligible:

• Children
• Parents and caretaker relatives
• Pregnant women
• People over the age of 65
• People with disabilities
• Children with developmental delays
• Breast and cervical cancer patients

Where Healthy Connections members and applicants go

• Apply or manage your account — apply.scdhhs.gov (the Citizen Portal). An ID.me account is required to log in to your member account after Jan. 26, 2024, but you can apply for Medicaid without one.
• Healthy Connections Medicaid Member Contact Center — (888) 549-0820, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Member services TTY — 888-842-3620.
• SCDHHS website — scdhhs.gov for the members portal, program eligibility detail, and provider directories.

Once a member is enrolled, day-to-day care runs through one of five contracted managed care organizations — Absolute Total Care, BlueChoice/Healthy Blue, Humana Healthy Horizons, Molina, and Select Health (First Choice).

Who qualifies for Healthy Connections?

SCDHHS frames Healthy Connections eligibility as primarily income- and asset-based, with several special categories layered on top. The state has not adopted ACA Medicaid expansion, so working-age adults without dependents, a disability, or pregnancy generally do not qualify on income alone. The categorical paths still cover most populations the federal Medicaid statute requires plus a handful of South Carolina options.

Healthy Connections program tracks

SCDHHS publishes 14 named program tracks on its Program Eligibility and Income Limits page. The most commonly used:

• Children — Partners for Healthy Children (PHC) covers under-19s at or below 208% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL); the program combines Medicaid and CHIP under one banner.
• Pregnant Women and Infants — coverage at or below 194% FPL; continues for 12 months after the baby's birth, and the infant is covered up to age one.
• Parent/Caretaker Relatives — formerly Low Income Families (LIF); covers parents and caretakers with a dependent child at home, at or below 62% FPL — one of the lowest parent thresholds in the country.
• Aged, Blind, or Disabled (ABD) — age 65+, blind, or disabled; at or below 100% FPL with a resource test ($9,950 individual, $14,910 couple effective 01/01/2026).
• Nursing facility and HCBS waiver applicants — income up to 300% of the SSI Federal Benefit Rate (currently $2,982/month), with a separate spousal allocation; financial and level-of-care tests are both required.
• Working Disabled — for working adults under 65 with a disability, family income up to 250% FPL plus a second test that unearned income stays at or below 100% FPL.
• Family Planning — limited-benefit program for men and women at or below 194% FPL; covers preventive and family-planning-related services only.
• Former Foster Care — covers individuals up to age 26 who were Medicaid recipients when they aged out of foster care; no income test.
• "Katie Beckett" TEFRA Children — disabled children up to age 18 whose own income and resources (not their parents') meet SSI-level thresholds, when an institutional level of care can be safely provided at home.
• Breast and Cervical Cancer Program — full Medicaid for uninsured individuals under 65 in need of treatment, who screened through the Best Chance Network.
• QMB, SLMB, and QI — Medicare Savings Programs for low-income Medicare enrollees; pay Part A and/or B premiums and (for QMB) cost sharing.

Renewal and reporting

You must reapply for Healthy Connections every year. SCDHHS first tries to renew electronically using federal and state data; when that doesn't work, the agency mails a paper review form. Members can complete the annual review at apply.scdhhs.gov.

Appealing a decision

You can ask for an appeal if your Medicaid coverage has changed, ended, or been denied, or if a medical service has been denied. Submit the appeal request within 30 days from the date on the notice, with your contact information and a description of what and why you are appealing.

Healthy Connections income limits

SCDHHS is unusually direct about Healthy Connections dollar limits — the agency publishes a current chart for each program track on its Program Eligibility and Income Limits page, with the effective date posted next to the figures. The numbers below come from SCDHHS's published chart for income effective March 1, 2026 (with resource limits effective January 1, 2026). Verify the current chart at scdhhs.gov before relying on a specific number.

Income limits for the most common Healthy Connections tracks

Medically Indigent Assistance Program (MIAP)

For inpatient hospital care only, MIAP covers South Carolina residents at or below 200% FPL. The asset rules are unusually specific: primary residence equity capped at $35,000 (a family farm of 50 acres or less lived on for at least 25 years is excluded); equity in real property and taxable personal property capped at $6,000 combined; liquid assets capped at $500. Applicants over the liquid asset limit can spend down to qualify on rent, mortgage, utilities, and medical expenses.

Estate recovery

South Carolina's Estate Recovery Program took effect July 1, 1994. The state recovers Medicaid payments made on behalf of certain recipients (typically long-term care members) for services received July 1, 1994 or later, after the member's death and from the estate rather than from the survivors directly.

How to apply for Healthy Connections

Healthy Connections accepts the same standard SCDHHS application through five different channels: online, in person at a county eligibility office, by phone, by email (yes, really — to a dedicated fax-to-email address), and by mail. SCDHHS recommends the online application as the fastest path, with free help available from SC Thrive.

How to apply

• Online — apply at apply.scdhhs.gov. You can apply for Medicaid without an ID.me account; setting one up unlocks account features like viewing notices, reporting changes, and saving an unfinished application.
• By phone — call the Healthy Connections Medicaid Member Contact Center at (888) 549-0820, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (TTY: 888-842-3620).
• In person — visit your local county eligibility office, a federally qualified rural health center, or most hospitals; many sites accept applications and can help complete the paperwork.
• By email — return your completed application and supporting documents to 8888201204@fax.scdhhs.gov (despite the address, it's a fax-to-email gateway that accepts attachments).
• By mail — SCDHHS-Central Mail, P.O. Box 100101, Columbia, SC 29202-3101.

What to gather before you apply

SCDHHS lists the following items for every person in the household:

• Date of birth and Social Security number
• Income from jobs or training
• Benefits received now or in the past (Social Security, SSI, veteran's benefits, child support)
• Money in checking, savings, or other resources you own
• Monthly rent or mortgage payment and utility bills
• Payments for adult or child care
• Any current health coverage and the medical benefits it provides

Free application help

SCDHHS recommends SC Thrive for application help. SC Thrive can assess your household's most likely health coverage options — Medicaid, CHIP, or an Advanced Premium Tax Credit through the federal marketplace — and complete the application with you. Reach SC Thrive at scthrive.org or call (800) 726-8774.

Pregnant applicants

Pregnant women may be able to receive medical care while their application is processed. Call Healthy Connections at (888) 549-0820 to start a presumptive eligibility decision while the full application is pending.

What Healthy Connections covers

Healthy Connections delivers most member care through five contracted managed care organizations. SCDHHS describes an MCO as a health care company, often called a health plan — a group of doctors, hospitals, and other providers who work together to meet member health care needs.

The five Healthy Connections MCOs

SCDHHS partners with the following MCOs:

• Absolute Total Care
• BlueChoice (Healthy Blue)
• Humana Healthy Horizons
• Molina
• Select Health (First Choice)

Members can compare plans through the Healthy Connections Choices comparison tool at SCChoices.com and look up Medicaid-participating doctors there. Dental services run through DentaQuest, the contracted dental administrator; members find a participating dentist at dentaquest.com.

EPSDT for children

SCDHHS describes Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) as a Medicaid benefit that covers checkups and health care services for children from birth until age 21 to detect and treat health problems. EPSDT checkups are free for all children and youth who have Healthy Connections Medicaid. Often referred to as well-child visits, EPSDT screens, diagnoses, and treats problems before they become permanent, lifelong disabilities.

Autism Spectrum Disorder services

SCDHHS covers all medically necessary care for children with autism through age 21 as part of the EPSDT benefit. ASD services include applied behavior analysis and related supports; eligibility runs through the same Healthy Connections enrollment.

BabyNet for infants and toddlers

BabyNet is South Carolina's interagency early intervention system for infants and toddlers under three years of age with developmental delays. BabyNet matches the special needs of those infants and toddlers with community resources; services are provided in everyday routines, activities, and places relevant to the life of the family. Eligibility for BabyNet is separate from Medicaid eligibility — children do not need to be Healthy Connections members to receive BabyNet services.

Long-term services and waiver programs

For members who meet a nursing facility level of care, Healthy Connections covers nursing-facility care plus Home and Community-Based Services through several waivers, including the Community Choices waiver and the Medically Complex Children waiver. The Program for All-Inclusive Care of the Elderly (PACE) is available for eligible seniors as an alternative to nursing facility placement.

Other member resources

• Community Connections — a free 24/7 online resource at sccommunityconnect.findhelp.com that connects South Carolinians with social and health care services across the state.
• First Five SC — at first5sc.org, connects families to programs for children ages 0–5.
• WIC — the federal Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program; call 1-855-472-3432 to apply.
• Member Handbook — downloadable from scdhhs.gov in English and Spanish.

Other state Medicaid pages