Medicare help in South Carolina from a licensed independent agent
I'm John Morrison, an independent insurance agent licensed in South Carolina (NPN 3680444) and based in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee. I'm not connected with or endorsed by Medicare, the South Carolina Department of Insurance, or any government agency.
How I work with folks in South Carolina.
If you are close to 65, or already on Medicare and want to look at your options, I can help. If you are under 65 and on Medicare because of a disability, the Medigap rules in South Carolina are different, and I explain them below. I help sort out Medicare Advantage, Part D, Medicare Supplements, and how your Medicare timing lines up with Social Security and your retirement date.
I'll be straight with you: I do not have an office in South Carolina. Your son or daughter can join our call from wherever they live. After 42 years, I can tell you the conversation matters more than the room.
South Carolina also has a free counseling program, the State Health Insurance Assistance Program run by the South Carolina Department on Aging. I'm glad when my clients use it too.
Medicare in South Carolina: what's different here
If you are under 65 and on Medicare because of a disability, South Carolina does not currently require private insurers to sell you a Medigap policy. As of 2026, the state's Medigap guide says the only guaranteed-issue option (a policy a company can't turn you down for because of your health) in that situation is the state-run South Carolina Health Insurance Pool. The guide says the pool offers Medigap Plans A and D, and Plan C for people first eligible before 2020. When you reach 65, you get a fresh Medigap open enrollment period and can buy any Medigap policy sold in the state.
The state's 2026 Medicare Supplement Shopper's Guide lists no birthday rule or yearly Medigap switching window. It calls your Medigap open enrollment a one-time period that does not repeat. After it, a guaranteed-issue right, like the ones below, lets you buy certain Medigap plans from any company that sells them here.
As of March 2026, South Carolina had about 1.28 million people eligible for Medicare, and about 47 percent of them were in Medicare Advantage plans.
- During Medigap open enrollment you cannot be turned down for health reasons, but an insurer may exclude pre-existing conditions for up to six months.
- If you're 65 or older and have a guaranteed-issue right (for example, your Medicare Advantage plan leaves the area or your employer coverage ends), you can buy Medigap Plan A, B, D, G, K or L from any company that sells Medigap here. You generally have 63 calendar days after that coverage ends.
Turning 65 in South Carolina: key Medicare dates
I line up the timing with your retirement date and any employer coverage, to help you avoid a gap in coverage or a late enrollment penalty. Signing up for Part A and Part B goes through Social Security: online at ssa.gov/medicare/sign-up or at a local office (ssa.gov/locator).
- Initial Enrollment Period: 7 months, starting 3 months before the month you turn 65 and ending 3 months after it.
- Working past 65 with employer group coverage (yours or your spouse's)? You can generally delay Part B without penalty, then get an 8-month Special Enrollment Period once that job or coverage ends.
- Medigap open enrollment here: six months from the first day of the month you are 65 or older with Part B.
- Medicare Open Enrollment: October 15 – December 7; changes start January 1, and the plan must get your request by December 7.
- Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment: January 1 – March 31, for people already in a Medicare Advantage plan; one change only, to another Medicare Advantage plan or back to Original Medicare with a drug plan.
- If you joined a Medicare Advantage plan when you were first eligible at 65, you can drop it within 12 months of first joining and switch to Original Medicare. If you do, you have special rights to buy a Medigap policy.
- Missed your Initial Enrollment Period? General Enrollment is January 1 – March 31; coverage starts the month after you sign up.
Help paying for Medicare in South Carolina
South Carolina's Medicaid program is called Healthy Connections, run by the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. It runs three Medicare Savings Programs, known as QMB, SLMB and QI. QMB can pay Medicare premiums, copays and deductibles. The other two pay only the Part B premium. If you have both Medicare and Healthy Connections Medicaid, Medicaid will usually pay your Medicare premium, copayments and deductibles. Healthy Connections Prime, the state's combined Medicare-Medicaid plan, ended January 1, 2026. The state encourages former members to switch to a new dual special needs plan (D-SNP).
Extra Help is a separate Medicare program that helps people with limited income and resources pay Part D premiums, deductibles, coinsurance and other drug costs. You get it automatically with full Medicaid, a Medicare Savings Program, or SSI; otherwise you apply through Social Security at ssa.gov.
Working with me from South Carolina
Wherever you live in South Carolina, from Greenville – Spartanburg and Rock Hill to Columbia, Florence, Sumter, Myrtle Beach, Charleston – North Charleston and Hilton Head Island – Bluffton, we work by phone or video. I meet people in person only around Chattanooga, Tennessee, north Georgia and northeast Alabama.
I'm licensed only in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
If you have family in North Carolina or Georgia, I'm licensed there too.
What I can help with in South Carolina.
The same six things I help every client with, explained one at a time. Pick the one you’re wondering about.
Medicare Advantage in South Carolina
As of March 2026, about 47 percent of South Carolina's Medicare-eligible residents were in a Medicare Advantage plan.
Read more about Medicare AdvantagePrescription Drug Plans in South Carolina
Extra Help for Part D costs comes automatically with full Healthy Connections Medicaid, a Medicare Savings Program, or SSI; otherwise you apply through Social Security.
Read more about Prescription Drug PlansMedicare Supplements in South Carolina
The state's 2026 Medigap guide lists no birthday rule or yearly switching window, and says under-65 buyers on Medicare due to disability currently have guaranteed-issue Medigap only through the South Carolina Health Insurance Pool.
Read more about Medicare SupplementsSS & Medicare Enrollment in South Carolina
In South Carolina your Medigap open enrollment is a one-time six-month window that starts the first day of the month you are 65 or older and have Part B, so your Part B start date matters.
Read more about SS & Medicare EnrollmentLife Insurance in South Carolina
Take care of family. Take care of the bill. No drama.
Read more about Life InsuranceAnnuities in South Carolina
I'm licensed. I don't push. If you ask, we'll talk. If you don't, we won't.
Read more about AnnuitiesPlan availability varies by state and county. Final recommendations are individualized to each client's situation.
Free, official help in South Carolina.
These are government and nonprofit offices, not sales lines. I point clients to them all the time, and I’d rather you hear the rules from them too than take my word alone.
- South Carolina SHIP (I-CARE) – Department on Aging
Free one-on-one Medicare counseling for beneficiaries, families and caregivers. The same office runs the Senior Medicare Patrol for reporting health care fraud, errors and abuse.
- South Carolina Department of Insurance – 2026 Medicare Supplement Shopper's Guide
Licenses and regulates the companies that sell Medigap in South Carolina; its Office of Consumer Services takes Medigap questions at consumers@doi.sc.gov.
- Healthy Connections Medicaid (SCDHHS) – Medicare Savings Programs
South Carolina's Medicaid agency, which runs the state's three Medicare Savings Programs (QMB, SLMB, QI).
- South Carolina Department of Insurance – Insurance Fraud Division
Where to report suspected insurance fraud; also 1-888-95-FRAUD or FraudDivision@doi.sc.gov.
- Medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE
The official federal Medicare site and help line from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; TTY 1-877-486-2048. Original Medicare, Medicare Advantage and Part D problems go here, not to the state insurance department.
Medicare questions from South Carolina
Is John Morrison licensed to help with Medicare in South Carolina?
Can I buy a Medicare Supplement in South Carolina if I'm under 65 and on Medicare because of a disability?
Does South Carolina have a birthday rule or another window to switch Medigap plans without health questions?
Who runs the free Medicare counseling program in South Carolina, and how do I reach them?
Where do I apply for a Medicare Savings Program or Extra Help in South Carolina?
Do you meet South Carolina clients in person, or by phone and video?
Does it cost anything to work with you?
Where these facts come from
Checked against these official pages in September 2026. Medicare rules change every year, so if something here looks out of date, call me and I’ll check it for you.
- Medicare and Medicare Fraud | South Carolina Department on Aging
- I-CARE (Insurance Counseling Assistance and Referrals for Elders) | CMS
- Medicare Supplement Insurance 2026 Shopper's Guide | South Carolina Department of Insurance
- Report Insurance Fraud | South Carolina Department of Insurance
- Healthy Connections Medicaid FAQs | SCDHHS
- Program Eligibility and Income Limits | SCDHHS
- Healthy Connections Prime | SCDHHS
- MA State/County Penetration, March 2026 | CMS
- When does Medicare coverage start? | Medicare
- Working past 65 | Medicare
- Open Enrollment | Medicare
- Understanding Medicare Advantage & Medicare Drug Plan Enrollment Periods (CMS Product No. 11219)
- Help with drug costs (Extra Help) | Medicare
- Medicare Savings Programs | Medicare
- About SHIPs | shiphelp.org
- Contact Medicare | Medicare
- Ready to sign up for Part A & Part B | Medicare
We do not offer every plan available in your area. Any information we provide is limited to those plans we do offer in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options.
Ready to talk? Let’s find 30 minutes.
No pressure. No quotas. I’ll listen, ask a few questions, and if I can help you I’ll tell you how. If I can’t, I’ll tell you that too.
I read every text. Even on Christmas.