South Carolina Medicaid Work Requirements
Non-expansion state — requirement does not applySouth Carolina is a non-expansion state that brands its Medicaid Healthy Connections; parents qualify up to about 62% FPL and childless adults are not covered a
South Carolina compliance calculator
Federal minimum wage: $7.25. Self-employed? Use your average hourly net earnings.
≈ 108 hours/month. The requirement is 80/month.
Pay stubs or an employer letter count.
Parents of children 13 or under, pregnant/postpartum women, people with disabilities or medical frailty, and several other federal categories are exempt. An exemption beats any hour-counting strategy — run the exemption wizard before optimizing hours.
At 25 hrs/week you average ~108 hours/month, above the 80-hour floor. You must document every month.
At $12.00/hour you need ~49 hours/month to reach $580. Your projected $1300/month clears it.
OBBBA lets hours from work, community service, job training, and education combine toward 80. Volunteering ~10 hrs/week (≈45 hrs/month) plus part-time work can close gaps that wages alone cannot.
Parents of children 13 or under, pregnant/postpartum women, people with disabilities or medical frailty, and several other federal categories are exempt. An exemption beats any hour-counting strategy — run the exemption wizard before optimizing hours.
Variable schedules can dip below 80 hours in slow months. Some states average hours over a period; until your state publishes rules, plan for the strict monthly reading.
South Carolina at a glance
South Carolina is a non-expansion state that brands its Medicaid Healthy Connections; parents qualify up to about 62% FPL and childless adults are not covered at any income.
South Carolina has not expanded Medicaid under the ACA. Income limits in dollars for every household size are on our South Carolina income-limits page, computed from the official 2026 federal poverty guidelines with the 5% MAGI disregard applied.
What to watch in South Carolina
SC's relatively higher parent ceiling (62%) narrows but does not close its coverage gap.
The October 1, 2026 immigrant-eligibility changes also affect lawfully-present immigrant communities; our immigrant eligibility hub covers each category in English and Spanish.
Exemptions in South Carolina
OBBBA exemption categories apply to expansion adults only; South Carolina has no expansion adults. Existing eligibility rules are unchanged by the work requirement.
Not applicable — no expansion work requirement in South Carolina. Disability pathways continue under existing rules.
Exemption guides: medically frail · parent & caretaker · student · already meeting SNAP/TANF rules
Run the exemption self-checkDocuments to prepare
- ✓ Proof of income for household members (pay stubs, employer letter)
- ✓ Proof of state residency
- ✓ Pregnancy verification if applying under pregnancy coverage
- ✓ Disability documentation if applying through a disability pathway
- ✓ Renewal packets returned on time
Official South Carolina resources
South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (Healthy Connections)
South Carolina work requirement FAQ
Who is exempt from the South Carolina work requirement?＋
Federal law exempts parents and caretakers of children under 14, pregnant and postpartum women, people receiving disability benefits, the medically frail, students enrolled at least half-time, former foster youth up to 26, and people already meeting TANF or SNAP work rules. OBBBA exemption categories apply to expansion adults only; South Carolina has no expansion adults. Existing eligibility rules are unchanged by the work requirement.
What are South Carolina's Medicaid income limits?＋
Because South Carolina has not expanded Medicaid under the ACA, most adults without dependent children do not qualify at any income — the coverage gap. Parents qualify only at very low income levels. Children, pregnant women and people with disabilities have separate eligibility categories with their own income limits, set by South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (Healthy Connections).
Full 2026 South Carolina Medicaid income limits chart by family size →
What happens if I lose Medicaid in South Carolina?＋
Losing Medicaid triggers a 60-day special enrollment period for ACA marketplace coverage, and children may qualify for CHIP even when adults do not. Our coverage alternatives guide ranks the realistic fallbacks — marketplace subsidies, employer coverage, CHIP and community health centers — by cost.
Is South Carolina Medicaid the same as South Carolina Medicaid?＋
Yes. South Carolina Medicaid is South Carolina's Medicaid program. Applications and renewals run through South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services or the state's online portal.
Does the Medicaid work requirement apply in South Carolina?＋
No. The federal 80-hour rule applies only to the ACA expansion adult group, and South Carolina has not adopted the expansion — so the requirement has no population to attach to in 2027.
Was this page helpful?
Sources & verification
Reviewed by Gavin YE, Technical Director, ClearRules Labs.
Page last reviewed 2026-09-20
| Field | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Expansion status & income standards | Verified | CMS national eligibility table (2023-12-01) and KFF expansion tracker — checked 2026-09-20 |
| Agency URL | Pending | Official agency URL; blocked scripted checks from this network — confirm in a browser |
| Apply portal & phone | Pending | Published agency contact points; confirm against https://www.scdhhs.gov/ before relying on them |
| State work-requirement implementation plan | Pending | Not published as of 2026-09-20; page shows the federal floor |
- South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (Healthy Connections) — South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (accessed 2026-09-20)
- Status of state Medicaid expansion decisions — KFF (accessed 2026-09-20)
- National Medicaid & CHIP eligibility levels (income standards as of 2023-12-01) — Medicaid.gov (CMS) (accessed 2026-09-20)
- 2026 Federal Poverty Guidelines — HHS/ASPE (accessed 2026-09-20)
Page last verified 2026-09-20 · Status: federal-baseline-verified; income-limits-cms-sourced; agency-contact-pending; state-implementation-pending. Estimates only — your state Medicaid agency's determination controls.