The South Carolina Medicare Savings Program pays your Medicare Part B premium — $202.90 a month in 2026 — and at the top level pays your deductibles and copays too. It is run by South Carolina Medicaid, not by Medicare, and roughly one in three people who qualify never apply. This South Carolina medicare savings program guide gives the 2026 limits as South Carolina applies them, the asset rule, how it triggers Part D Extra Help, and where to apply.
Limits below are from the National Council on Aging’s 2026 table built on the federal poverty guidelines, checked against South Carolina’s own rules; they reset each spring when the new guidelines take effect.
In This South Carolina Medicare Savings Program Guide:
South Carolina Medicare Savings Program at a Glance (2026)
| 2026 income limits (single) | Federal (QMB $1,350 / SLMB $1,616 / QI $1,816 single; $1,824 / $2,184 / $2,455 couple) |
| 2026 asset test | Federal ($9,950 single / $14,910 couple) |
| What South Carolina calls the levels | South Carolina keeps the standard federal names and runs all three levels through Healthy Connections Medicaid. |
| Part B premium it can pay | $202.90 per month in 2026 |
| State prescription program | UNVERIFIED. |
| Where to apply | Applications go to the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), which administers Healthy Connections Medicaid — not to Medicare or to a Medicare plan. |
The Three Levels of the South Carolina Medicare Savings Program
- QMB (Qualified Medicare Beneficiary): pays the Part A and Part B premiums and the deductibles, coinsurance and copays. Providers who take Medicare may not bill a QMB enrollee for Medicare cost-sharing at all.
- SLMB (Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiary): pays the Part B premium only.
- QI (Qualifying Individual): also pays the Part B premium only, with a slightly higher income limit; funding is capped and first-come, first-served each year.
South Carolina labels: South Carolina keeps the standard federal names and runs all three levels through Healthy Connections Medicaid.. Whatever the name, one application covers all three; the office places you at the highest level you qualify for.
South Carolina Medicare Savings Program Income and Asset Limits
The federal floors for a single person in 2026 are $1,350 a month for QMB, $1,616 for SLMB and $1,816 for QI, each including a $20 disregard. South Carolina’s figures: Federal (QMB $1,350 / SLMB $1,616 / QI $1,816 single; $1,824 / $2,184 / $2,455 couple).
Assets: Federal ($9,950 single / $14,910 couple). The home, one vehicle, household goods and burial funds up to $1,500 do not count.
South Carolina uses the SSI-related counting rules for these aged, blind and disabled categories, so the review looks at gross monthly income such as Social Security benefits, pensions and annuities, wages, and interest or dividends. Certain amounts are set aside before the comparison, including a general disregard applied to unearned income and a further disregard applied to earnings, and some income types are excluded outright.
If the applicant lives with a spouse, that spouse’s income is counted too and the couple figure is used. UNVERIFIED for any amounts.
South Carolina does allow retroactive Medicaid coverage for a limited period before the month of application when the person would have qualified then, and it publishes DHHS Form 3400-C, “Request for Retroactive Medicaid Coverage,” for making that request. That backdating applies to SLMB and QI, so unpaid Part B premiums from those earlier months can be reimbursed.
QMB works differently: federal rules bar backdating it, so QMB protection starts the month after SCDHHS approves the case. UNVERIFIED for the exact number of months.
The QMB Billing Protection Most People Never Use
Federal law forbids any provider who accepts Medicare from billing a QMB enrollee for Medicare deductibles, coinsurance or copays. If a bill arrives, the enrollee does not owe it. Show the QMB card, cite the rule, and if it continues report it to 1-800-MEDICARE or the South Carolina SHIP. This one protection is worth more than the premium for anyone with regular hospital or specialist care.
South Carolina Medicare Savings Program and Part D Extra Help
Approval for any of the three levels automatically qualifies the person for Medicare Part D Extra Help, the Low Income Subsidy, for the rest of that calendar year and normally the following one. SCDHHS reports the approval to the federal government, Social Security is notified, and no separate Extra Help application is required.
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The connection also runs the other way: when someone applies for Extra Help at Social Security, that agency sends South Carolina an electronic referral so SCDHHS can test the person for a Medicare Savings Program.
South Carolina Prescription Help Beyond Medicare
UNVERIFIED. — South Carolina runs its own drug-cost program for seniors alongside Extra Help. Ask Applications go to the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), which administers Healthy Connections Medicaid — not to Medicare or to a Medicare plan. or the SHIP whether you qualify for both.
How to Apply for the South Carolina Medicare Savings Program
Where: Applications go to the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), which administers Healthy Connections Medicaid — not to Medicare or to a Medicare plan. — application. Free help: South Carolina’s State Health Insurance Assistance Program is called I-CARE, short for Insurance Counseling, Assistance and Referrals for Elders, and it is coordinated by the South Carolina Department on Aging with counselors placed at the regional Councils of Governments and area agencies on aging..
Bring the Medicare card, proof of all income, and — in states with an asset test — bank statements. A decision usually takes a few weeks; the Part B premium refund appears as a larger Social Security deposit once the change reaches Social Security.
Who Typically Qualifies for the South Carolina Medicare Savings Program
A widow living on one Social Security check. A retired couple whose combined income is modest once one pension stopped. A person under 65 on Medicare through disability. Anyone who receives Supplemental Security Income already qualifies at the top level. Homeowners qualify as easily as renters, because the home is never counted, and in the states without an asset test savings are not counted either.
The South Carolina Medicare Savings Program Calendar
New federal poverty guidelines are published in January or February; states adopt the new South Carolina medicare savings program limits in the weeks after, usually by March or April. A person who was just over the limit in December may be under it in April without their income changing. The Part B premium itself changes each January, so the value of the program rises with it. QI funding is allocated by calendar year and can run out; apply early rather than late.
If the South Carolina Medicare Savings Program Application Is Denied
The denial notice states the reason and the deadline to ask for a hearing. The three fixable reasons are missing proof of income, income counted that should have been excluded, and — in asset-test states — a burial fund or life insurance that should not have been counted. Fix the reason and reapply; nothing prevents a second application. The state SHIP will review a denial for free.
The South Carolina Medicare Savings Program Versus Full Medicaid
The program pays Medicare costs; it does not make you a Medicaid patient. You keep your doctors, your Medicare card and your plan. Full Medicaid, with its lower income limit, adds coverage Medicare does not have — long-term care above all. Many people qualify for the South Carolina medicare savings program first and for full Medicaid only later, when care needs and costs rise. The two applications go to the same office.
What to Do Next
If you qualify for a South Carolina medicare savings program, apply before you shop for plans: the premium help changes which Medigap or Advantage plan makes sense. Your SHIP counselor can do both in one visit.
Official Sources
- South Carolina Medicare Savings Programs
- Applications go to the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), which administers Healthy Connections Medicaid — not to Medicare or to a Medicare plan.
- Medicaid.gov spousal impoverishment standards: medicaid.gov
- Medicare.gov Medicare Savings Programs: medicare.gov
This South Carolina medicare savings program guide was checked against the state Medicaid agency, CMS and the statute cited above in September 2026. Figures reset on their own calendars (most on January 1); if a number here disagrees with a notice you received, the notice wins — and please tell us. This page is general information, not legal, financial or medical advice.