Quick links:

• Average 2024 Costs
• Eligibility & Enrollment
• Finding Top-Rated Plans
• List of Plans Available
  • Plans by Carrier
  • Plans by County
  • Plans by Type
• Local Resources

There are 74 different Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) plans available in parts of South Carolina for 2024.¹ Not every plan is available in each county, so it's important to find out which ones are offered where you live.

A licensed insurance agent can help you compare the availability, benefits and costs of Medicare Advantage plans in your area of South Carolina. Read below to learn more about Medicare in your state.

Average costs of Medicare Advantage in South Carolina

The average premium for a Medicare Advantage plan in South Carolina is $8.43 per month for 2024.¹

Individual plan premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs may vary greatly depending on where you live and the plan you have.

You can view the 2024 average South Carolina Medicare Advantage plan monthly premiums by county listed below in this guide.

A licensed insurance agent can help you compare Medicare Advantage plan costs in your area.

Medicare Eligibility & Enrollment

If you want to enroll in Medicare Advantage in South Carolina, you must first be enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B, often referred to as Original Medicare.

To be eligible for Original Medicare at age 65, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident who has lived in the U.S. for five continuous years.
  
  
• You or your spouse must have worked long enough to be eligible for Social Security or Railroad Retirement benefits.
  
  
• You or your spouse must be government employees or retirees who have not paid into Social Security but have paid Medicare payroll taxes.

You may also be eligible for Medicare benefits under 65 if:

• You have been receiving Social Security disability benefits or certain Railroad Retirement Board disability benefits for at least 24 months.
  
  
• You have ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
  
  
• You have End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD), and you or your spouse have paid Social Security taxes for a certain length of time.

If you have ESRD, you may be able to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan or a South Carolina Medicare Special Needs Plan (SNP) that is specifically designed to help meet your health care needs.

How to sign up for a Medicare Advantage Plan

The first time you may be able to enroll in a South Carolina Medicare Part C plan in South Carolina is during your Medicare Initial Enrollment Period (IEP).

Your Medicare IEP starts three months before your 65^th birthday. It includes the month of your 65^th birthday and then continues for another three months after your birthday.

Additional times at which you may sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan include:

Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period: January 1 – March 31

If you're already enrolled in a Part C plan, from January 1 to March 31 every year, you may switch Medicare Advantage plans or drop your Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare.

If you return to Original Medicare during this period, you'll be able to join a Medicare standalone prescription drug plan (Medicare Part D).

Fall Medicare Open Enrollment Period (AEP): October 15 – December 7

From October 15 to December 7 every year, you may enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan or switch from one Medicare Advantage plan to another.

You may also drop your existing Medicare Advantage plan and return to Original Medicare.

During the fall open enrollment period (also known as the Annual Enrollment Period or "AEP"), you may also join, switch or drop a Medicare Part D plan.

Medicare Special Enrollment Periods (SEP)

You may potentially be granted a Medicare Special Enrollment Period (SEP) at any time throughout the year for qualifying circumstances.

A licensed insurance agent can help you find out if you qualify for a Medicare Special Enrollment Period.

Top-rated Medicare Advantage Plans in South Carolina 2024

Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issues Star Ratings for all Medicare Advantage plans using a system of one to five stars.

In order for a Medicare Advantage plan to be considered a top-rated plan, it must have four or more stars out of five stars.

36.9% of 2023 South Carolina Medicare Advantage plans that include prescription drug coverage were rated four stars or higher.¹

Medicare Advantage plans are rated in the following five categories:

• Preventive care and health maintenance (screenings, tests, vaccines, etc.)
• Management of chronic conditions
• Member experiences and ratings of the plan
• Member complaints, problems receiving services and member retention
• Customer service

The information for the star ratings is gathered from information that is submitted to Medicare, Medicare’s regular monitoring activities and member surveys.

List of Medicare Advantage Plans Available in South Carolina in 2024

To view a list of plans offered in your part of South Carolina, you can visit www.medicare.gov or use our plan comparison tool.

Private insurance companies offer Medicare Advantage plans in South Carolina

Multiple insurance carriers may offer Medicare Advantage plans in South Carolina, depending on where you live.

Some of the insurance companies who offer Medicare Advantage plans in South Carolina include:

• Humana
• Aetna
• UHC
• Wellcare
• Cigna Healthcare

This is not a comprehensive list of all the insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans where you live. You can visit Medicare.gov to see a full list of insurance companies who offer Medicare Advantage plans where you live.

Private insurance companies offer Medicare Advantage plans that may be unique to the plan area they serve.

Call to speak with a licensed insurance agent who can help you compare some of the Medicare Advantage plans that are sold in your area.

When you’re shopping for Medicare Advantage plans in South Carolina, you can compare plans from several different carriers by using some of the following information:

• The Medicare Star Ratings can give you an idea of a plan’s overall quality.
  
  
• Agencies like A.M. Best, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s can provide information about an insurance company’s credit rating and financial standing.
  
  
• Websites such as the Better Business Bureau and Consumer Reports can teach you about a company’s reputation among its customers.
  
  
• You can read through Medicare Advantage plan reviews and testimonials from customers.

South Carolina Medicare Advantage plans by county

Learn more about 2024 South Carolina Medicare Advantage plans by county.

• Abbeville County
• Aiken County
• Allendale County
• Anderson County
• Bamberg County
• Barnwell County
• Beaufort County
• Berkeley County
• Calhoun County
• Charleston County
• Cherokee County
• Chester County
• Chesterfield County
• Clarendon County
• Colleton County
• Darlington County
• Dillon County
• Dorchester County
• Edgefield County
• Fairfield County
• Florence County
• Georgetown County
• Greenville County
• Greenwood County
• Hampton County
• Horry County
• Jasper County
• Kershaw County
• Lancaster County
• Laurens County
• Lee County
• Lexington County
• Marion County
• Marlboro County
• McCormick County
• Newberry County
• Oconee County
• Orangeburg County
• Pickens County
• Richland County
• Saluda County
• Spartanburg County
• Sumter County
• Union County
• Williamsburg County
• York County

SC Medicare Advantage plans by type

The major types of Medicare Advantage plans include:

• HMO
  A Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) usually requires patients to use health care providers and pharmacies that are part of the plan’s network (except in the case of emergencies) while also typically requiring a referral from a primary care doctor in order to see a specialist.
  
  
• PPO
  Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) are able to see providers outside of their plan’s network, often at a higher cost.
  
  Beneficiaries in this type of plan typically pay less out of pocket if they choose to receive medical services from providers within their plan’s network.
  
  PPO plans typically do not require patients to acquire a referral before visiting with a specialist.
  
  
• PFFS
  A Private Fee-For-Service (PFFS) plan determines how much it will pay to health care providers and how much the patient will pay when care is received.
  
  With a PFFS plan, you can typically receive care from any doctor, hospital or health care provider that accepts your plan’s terms. Not all providers will accept these terms, however.
  
  
• SNP
  A Special Needs Plan (SNP) is a type of Medicare Advantage plan limited to people with certain chronic conditions and other specific characteristics.
  
  Typically, you must receive care from health care providers and hospitals within your SNP network, except for in cases when you need emergency or urgent care and when someone who has End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) needs out-of-area kidney dialysis.

Not all of these types of plans may be available in your area. A licensed insurance agent can help you compare the types of 2024 South Carolina Medicare Advantage plans that are available where you live.

We represent carriers such as Humana, Aetna, UHC, Anthem BCBS, Wellcare, Cigna Healthcare, and Kaiser Permanente.

Local health insurance resources in South Carolina

• State Health Insurance Program (SHIP)
  State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) offer counseling and assistance to Medicare-eligible people in their local area. SHIP counselors can help Medicare beneficiaries, their loved ones and their caregivers navigate the Medicare program.
  
  Find your local SHIP in South Carolina.
  
  
• South Carolina Prescription Drug Assistance Programs
  The state of South Carolina has a number of programs designed to help with the cost of prescription drugs. There are programs for both Medicare beneficiaries and non-Medicare beneficiaries alike that can cover the cost of premiums and cost-sharing or even lower the cost of the drugs themselves.

1 Freed M, et al. (Nov 10, 2022). Medicare Advantage 2023 Spotlight: First Look. Kaiser Family Foundation. www.kff.org/report-section/medicare-advantage-2023-spotlight-first-look-appendix.

2 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). (Sep 26, 2023). Medicare Advantage and Part D State Fact Sheets. www.cms.gov/files/document/2024-ma-part-d-landscape-state-state.pdf.

3 MedicareAdvantage.com analysis of 2024 MA Landscape Source File data provided by CMS. www.cms.gov/medicare/coverage/prescription-drug-coverage.