State Guide
Long-Term Care Funding in South Carolina
South Carolina Healthy Connections Medicaid uses an income-cap pathway for long-term services, so an eligible applicant over the cap may need an Income Trust. The state's currently posted policy also uses a fixed $66,480 community-spouse resource share and has not enacted a statutory transfer-on-death deed for real property.
Which stage are you in, in South Carolina?
Care Within 1-3 Years
See the Care Within 1-3 Years pillars →Planning Ahead
See the Planning Ahead pillars →
Decision Table
Situation, or profile — straight to South Carolina pages
Same six rows as the sitewide decision table, resolved to South Carolina-specific pages wherever one exists. Plain HTML — no script required to read it, by a person or an AI agent.
| Situation / Profile | Where to Look Next |
|---|---|
| Care Needed NowA hospital discharge is being planned, a facility decision is imminent, or home care has already started. | South Carolina Medicaid Look-Back Period · South Carolina VA Aid & Attendance |
| Care Within 1-3 YearsMemory changes, a recent fall, or a new diagnosis have made the timeline real, but care isn't needed today. | South Carolina VA Aid & Attendance · South Carolina Long-Term Care Planning |
| Planning AheadNo diagnosis, no crisis, no urgency — just the recognition that long-term care is a when, not an if, for most people eventually. | South Carolina Long-Term Care Insurance · South Carolina Long-Term Care Planning |
| Veteran (or surviving spouse) of wartime serviceAdds a federal pension benefit on top of whatever the Situation and State rows point to. | South Carolina VA Aid & Attendance |
| Owns significant home equityThe home is usually Medicaid-exempt during life but affects estate recovery and private-pay runway. | South Carolina Home Transfer Planning · South Carolina Medicaid Long-Term Care |
| Already has LTC insurance or a hybrid life/LTC policy in forceThe existing policy is usually the first dollar spent; other pillars become supplemental once benefits are exhausted or if a gap remains. | South Carolina Long-Term Care Insurance · South Carolina Medicaid Long-Term Care |
South Carolina's long-term-care Medicaid route
South Carolina calls its Medicaid program Healthy Connections Medicaid. State law assigns Medicaid administration to the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, commonly called SCDHHS. Within SCDHHS, the Office of Waiver and Facility Services oversees long-term-living functions including nursing facilities, PACE, hospice, Home Again, and several Medicaid waiver programs (South Carolina Code, Title 43 Chapter 7; SCDHHS Long-Term Living).
South Carolina is an income-cap state for the nursing-facility and waiver pathway. The federal 2026 300%-of-SSI amount is $2,982 monthly, and the SCDHHS long-term-care manual explains that a person over the cap may use an Income Trust for nursing-home or home- and community-based waiver eligibility. That makes the trust question a central South Carolina issue, rather than a generic estate-planning add-on (CMS 2026 SSI and Medicaid standards; SCDHHS MPPM Chapter 304).
Home, spouse, and transfer questions need separate answers
South Carolina's posted Medicaid manual uses a $2,000 individual resource standard and describes a $66,480 community-spouse share. Its posted home-equity figure is $688,000. That online state-manual figure is the most recent state-specific figure located in this research, not a verified 2026 update, so applicants should obtain the live SCDHHS amount before acting on home equity or a spousal assessment (SCDHHS MPPM Chapter 304).
A 60-month transfer review applies, and the manual directs the agency to use the current average private-pay nursing-facility cost in calculating a penalty. It does not provide a verified statewide 2026 divisor in the publicly located material. South Carolina has also not enacted a statutory transfer-on-death deed for real estate: its current TOD article concerns titled personal property, while proposed real-property TOD and enhanced-life-estate legislation remains bill text rather than enacted law (SCDHHS MPPM Chapter 304; South Carolina TOD designation law; S. 49 bill text; H. 4264 bill text).
Care at home and in a facility
For older adults and adults with physical disabilities, the Community Choices Waiver is South Carolina's major alternative to nursing-facility care. It serves people who meet nursing-facility level of care, including frail adults age 65 or older and qualifying adults age 18 through 64 with physical disabilities. SCDHHS nurse consultants conduct the skilled or intermediate level-of-care review for nursing facilities (SCDHHS Community Choices Waiver; SCDHHS Nursing Facilities).
Published planning figures: $2,000 individual resource standard; $3,000 federal SSI couple resource standard; $2,982 monthly 300%-of-SSI income cap for 2026; $66,480 posted community-spouse share; $688,000 posted state-manual home-equity figure; $60 facility personal-needs allowance; and a 60-month transfer review. Confirm figures that change annually directly with SCDHHS before applying (CMS 2026 standards; SCDHHS MPPM Chapter 304; SCDHHS personal-needs allowance notice).
South Carolina Medicaid Long-Term Care
How Healthy Connections Medicaid, the Department of Health and Human Services, and clinical level-of-care review fit together.
Category: Program Overview
South Carolina Medicaid Asset Limits
South Carolina's published LTC resource, income-cap, home-equity, and community-spouse rules.
Category: Eligibility
South Carolina Medicaid Look-Back Period
South Carolina reviews five years of transfers and uses its current private-pay rate when calculating a penalty.
Category: Eligibility
South Carolina Home Transfer Planning
South Carolina has no enacted statutory real-property TOD or enhanced-life-estate deed, so home transfers need individualized planning.
Category: Legal Tools
South Carolina Medicaid Estate Recovery
South Carolina seeks recovery from an estate, with survivor protections and a state undue-hardship waiver process.
Category: After Care
South Carolina Nursing Home Medicaid
Nursing-facility Medicaid uses a CLTC level-of-care review and a $60 monthly personal-needs allowance.
Category: Institutional Care
South Carolina Home Care Medicaid
The Community Choices Waiver is South Carolina's principal home-care alternative for people who meet nursing-facility level of care.
Category: Home & Community-Based Care
South Carolina Long-Term Care Planning
Planning turns on a strict income-cap route, an Income Trust when needed, five-year transfer review, and title-specific recovery analysis.
Category: Advance Planning
South Carolina VA Aid & Attendance
VA Aid and Attendance can supplement pension benefits while South Carolina offers six State Veterans Homes and a disabled-veteran property-tax exemption.
Category: Veterans Benefits
South Carolina Long-Term Care Insurance (*)
The South Carolina Department of Insurance regulates LTC coverage and maintains the state's LTC Partnership regulatory framework. See more details for tax incentives →
Category: Insurance
Participates in the State Long-Term Care Partnership Program.
The Fastest Way to Know
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Let the assessment tell you.
The Journey Assessment ranks the ten national funding pillars against your specific situation — then use the South Carolina-specific pages above to see exactly how each one plays out under South Carolina law.