COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolinians who buy their own health insurance can start shopping for 2027 coverage now, but many will find higher sticker prices. Open enrollment on Healthcare.gov opened Nov. 1, 2026, and continues until Jan. 15, 2027.
Approved filings for the state’s individual market put the weighted average increase at 22.1 percent, well above the 17.2 percent insurers had first sought. Small businesses buying group coverage face average increases of about 8.9 percent. Those are averages before subsidies, so what a household actually pays depends on its income, size and the tax credit it qualifies for.
Higher costs come as enrollment has already dropped. After the enhanced federal premium subsidies lapsed at the end of last year, the number of South Carolinians in marketplace plans in February was down about 29 percent from a year earlier, a loss of nearly 160,000 people in two months.
Six insurers are selling marketplace plans in the state for 2027, according to the S.C. Department of Insurance. Absolute Total Care and BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina cover all 46 counties. Select Health of South Carolina is in 27 counties after adding seven, including Aiken, Beaufort, Florence, Lexington and York. Oscar Health Plan is new to the state marketplace and will sell in Charleston, Colleton, Florence, Horry, Marion and York counties.
Some choices are shrinking. UnitedHealthcare of South Carolina dropped eight counties and now offers plans in nine, mostly rural ones such as Allendale, Hampton and Williamsburg. InStil Health pulled out of Spartanburg County and remains in four counties.
The state insurance department posts sample premiums for different ages in several large counties, along with the insurers’ own explanations for any increase above 15 percent, so shoppers can compare before choosing a plan.
Filed under: Hilton Head Island SC Health News
