Benefits for seniors in South Carolina

Medicaid for people 65 and over

SCDHHS runs Medicaid in South Carolina under the name Healthy Connections. The main full-coverage group for older adults is Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD).

• Who qualifies: You are 65 or older, blind, or disabled, and live in South Carolina.
• Income: Up to $1,330 a month for one person, or $1,804 for a couple. This is 100% of the federal poverty level.
• Resources: Up to $9,950 for one person, or $14,910 for a couple.
• What it covers: All Medicaid covered services, such as doctor visits, hospital care and prescriptions. With Medicare, it helps with costs Medicare does not pay.

Nursing home care. Medicaid can pay for care in a licensed, certified nursing home. You must need nursing home level of care and stay in a medical facility (or get waiver services at home) for 30 days in a row. Your income can be up to $2,982 a month (300% of the SSI federal rate), and your resources up to $2,000. You pay part of the cost of your care from your income. You can keep $60 a month for personal needs. If your spouse still lives at home, part of your income can go to them, up to $4,066.50 a month. Your spouse can also keep part of your savings. Under federal rules for 2026, that is up to $162,660, worked out by a formula. Medicaid will not pay for long-term care if your equity in your home is above the federal home equity limit, which is at least $752,000 in 2026. Apply with form FM 3401.

Estate recovery. If you were 55 or older when Medicaid paid for nursing home or home and community-based care, SCDHHS will try to get that money back from your estate after you die. Recovery waits while your spouse is alive. It also waits while you have a child under 21, or a child who is blind or disabled. Your family can ask for a hardship waiver. Call Estate Recovery at (803) 898-2932.

Help paying Medicare costs

SCDHHS runs three Medicare Savings Programs. You must have Medicare Part A.

• QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary): Pays your Medicare premiums, copays and deductibles. Income at or below 100% of the poverty level, about $1,350 a month for one person or $1,824 for a couple.
• SLMB (Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary): Pays your Part B premium only. Income up to 120% of the poverty level, about $1,616 a month for one person or $2,184 for a couple.
• QI (Qualifying Individual): Pays your Part B premium only. Income up to 135% of the poverty level, about $1,816 a month for one person or $2,455 for a couple.

South Carolina uses the federal poverty-level limits. Its chart shows numbers about $20 lower because it does not include the $20 of income that is not counted. There is an asset test: $9,950 for one person or $14,910 for a couple. SLMB and QI do not come with a Medicaid card or other Medicaid benefits.

If you get QMB, SLMB or QI, you get Extra Help with Part D drug costs automatically. You still need to be in a Medicare drug plan.

Prescription drug help

South Carolina's state agencies do not list a state drug payment program for seniors. Use federal Extra Help, which lowers Part D premiums, deductibles and copays. If you have full Medicaid (ABD), Medicaid also helps with costs Medicare does not pay.

Extra state payment with SSI

South Carolina does not add money to the SSI check of people who live in their own home. If you live on your own, your SSI payment is the federal amount, up to $994 a month.

Social Security's rules list South Carolina as a state that runs its own optional supplement. That supplement is Optional State Supplementation (OSS). It is for people 65 or older, blind or disabled who live in an approved, licensed Community Residential Care Facility. You must meet SSI rules except for income. Your net income can be up to $1,804 a month and your resources up to $2,000. OSS gives full Medicaid plus a state payment to the facility. You pay part of the cost. Apply through SCDHHS.

Food help

South Carolina's food program is SNAP, run by the Department of Social Services (DSS).

• ESAP (Elderly Simplified Application Project): If the people in your home are 65 or older and no one has job earnings, you can use a short ESAP application. Mail it to ESAP, South Carolina Department of Social Services, PO Box 100203, Columbia, SC 29202. Benefits start from the date you file. A DSS brochure says ESAP benefits last three years before you renew.
• SCCAP (South Carolina Combined Application Project): If you get SSI and live alone (or buy and cook food apart from others), you can get SNAP without going to a DSS office. There is no interview, and benefits last three years.
• Resources: Most households do not have resources counted. If yours does, the limit is $4,500 when someone in the home is 60 or older.
• Medical costs: Elderly and disabled people can deduct some medical costs and high housing costs. Keep your receipts.
• Questions about ESAP or SCCAP: Call 1-888-898-0055.

Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. If you are 60 or older and your household income is at or below 185% of the poverty level, you may get checks worth $50 for fresh fruits and vegetables at approved farmers' markets and roadside stands. The 2026 season began June 1. You apply in person at a distribution event in your county, with a photo ID. It is first come, first served, and only in participating counties. Call (803) 898-1760 for details.

Your local Area Agency on Aging can also tell you about group meal sites and home-delivered meals.

Help staying at home

Community Choices Waiver. This Medicaid waiver helps frail adults 65 and older (and adults 18 to 64 with physical disabilities) get care at home instead of in a nursing home. You must meet nursing home level of care and qualify for Medicaid. The income limit is the same as for nursing home care, $2,982 a month for one person.

• How to start: Call Community Long Term Care (CLTC) Centralized Intake at (888) 971-1637, or send an online referral at phoenix.scdhhs.gov/cltc_referrals/new.
• Wait list: There may be a waiting list. While you wait, you can still use regular Medicaid services.

PACE. If you are 55 or older, need nursing home level of care and can live safely at home with help, PACE gives you all your care through one team. In South Carolina, PACE serves parts of Anderson, Bamberg, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Dorchester, Greenville, Lexington, Orangeburg, Pickens and Richland counties. Ask SCDHHS for the PACE program near you.

Property tax and housing help

Homestead exemption. If you are 65 or older (or totally and permanently disabled, or legally blind), you do not pay property tax on the first $50,000 of the fair market value of your home.

• Who qualifies: You own your home (or hold a life estate, or a trust that holds it names you), it is your legal residence, and you have lived in South Carolina for a full calendar year. You must meet the age rule by December 31 before the tax year.
• How to apply: Go to your County Auditor's Office. Bring proof of age, such as a birth certificate or South Carolina driver's license.
• No yearly renewal: You usually do not reapply unless you move.
• Surviving spouse: A surviving spouse may keep the exemption in some cases.

Legal residence rate. Your primary residence is taxed at a lower 4% assessment ratio, instead of the higher rate for other property. Ask your county if your home is listed as your legal residence.

Help with energy bills

• LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program): Helps pay home heating and cooling bills. It is run by the SC Office of Economic Opportunity and offered through local Community Action Agencies. Your income must be at or below 60% of the state median income.
• 2026-27 program year: Under the state's draft plan, heating help runs October 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027, and cooling help runs May 1 to September 30, 2027. Crisis help is offered all year. If someone in your home is 60 or older, you may get an extra $50 on your regular benefit.
• How to apply: Contact the Community Action Agency for your county. Bring ID, proof of income for the last 30 days for adults in your home, and a current energy bill.
• LIHEAP does not pay water or sewer bills.

Free help and counseling

• I-CARE (Insurance Counseling Assistance and Referrals for Elders): This is South Carolina's State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), run by the South Carolina Department on Aging. Counselors give free, one-on-one help with Medicare choices, billing problems, Extra Help and the Medicare Savings Programs. Call 1-800-868-9095, or contact your local Area Agency on Aging. You can also use the national SHIP locator at shiphelp.org or call 877-839-2675.
• Area Agencies on Aging: South Carolina has 10 regional Area Agencies on Aging / Aging and Disability Resource Centers. They help with meals, in-home help, caregiver support and benefits. Call 1-800-868-9095 to be connected to yours, search at getcaresc.com, or use the Eldercare Locator at 1-800-677-1116 or eldercare.acl.gov.
• South Carolina Department on Aging: 1301 Gervais Street, Suite 350, Columbia, SC 29201. Toll-free 1-800-868-9095, local (803) 734-9900.
• SCDHHS member help line: (888) 549-0820, or email [email protected].

How to apply

Check what you may qualify for