Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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South Carolina program

Healthy Connections for you, the parent

Healthy Connections can cover you as the parent or relative raising a child.

What it is

Healthy Connections can cover you as the parent or relative raising a child.

Your child’s approval does not automatically cover you. South Carolina uses a much lower income line for parents. A drop in current pay can make this worth talking through.

Eligibility rules
  • You must be a parent or caretaker relative living with the child in South Carolina.
  • The parent line by household size, per month: 2: $1,118 · 3: $1,412 · 4: $1,705 · 5: $1,998 · 6: $2,292.
  • The published ceiling is 62% of the poverty line. The state decides the household and income used for your application.
What you get
  • Health insurance for the parent or caretaker relative who qualifies.
  • A review through the same application used for your child.
What the help includes
  • This is the Parent/Caretaker Relatives category, formerly Low Income Families.
  • A parent’s coverage has its own cost-sharing rules and exemptions. The financial counselor can confirm any premium or copays for your category and compare them with your other coverage; your child’s cost rules do not automatically apply to you.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask the financial counselor to include you on Form 3400 if you want your own coverage reviewed.
  2. Have current pay records and household details ready, including any recent work change.

South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services · 888-549-0820 · Official page ↗

If you decide to go ahead
  • You can request your own coverage on your child’s application at apply.scdhhs.gov.
  • A financial counselor can compare the Marketplace route if this category does not fit.
Good to know

A parent over the line and under the poverty line has no Medicaid and no premium help; that gap is real. The hospital's financial counselor can say what help exists for an uninsured parent.

Other details
  • The proposed Palmetto Pathways waiver is not open.
  • Marketplace premium assistance ordinarily starts at the poverty line, so it may not fill the gap below that line.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could I get coverage on the same application as my child? If I cannot, could you help compare the costs and limits of my other choices?”

Why I’m asking: I want to keep my own medical care covered while caring for my child.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Add yourself to the child's application and report this month's income.

Your social worker

The social worker can price the Marketplace alternative with you if you are over the line.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The Department of Health and Human Services.
Ask your social worker
“Can I be added to the same application as my child, and if my income is too high, what cover is there for me?”

How to apply

First step: Add yourself to the same application at apply.scdhhs.gov.

  1. Put yourself on the same application as your child; it costs nothing to be told no.
  2. If your income is above the line, price a Marketplace plan at healthcare.gov before deciding anything.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Apply at apply.scdhhs.gov or on Form 3400, the same application as the child's.

What to gather

  • This month's income for the household
  • Proof of who lives at home

How long: The department's FAQ says generally up to 45 days.

What a yes looks like

A notice covering you as well as your child.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If the no is on income, price a Marketplace plan; if your income is under the poverty line, say so to the social worker, because that is the gap with no answer in this state.

Watch out

  • The parent's line is far below the child's. A child can be covered while the parent is not.
  • Above this line South Carolina has no other adult Medicaid, and premium help on the Marketplace only starts at the poverty line. That gap is real and this page will not pretend otherwise.

Dates that change this

2026-03-01: South Carolina has not widened Medicaid to other adults. Between 62 percent of the poverty line and the poverty line itself there is neither this category nor Marketplace premium help. The Palmetto Pathways waiver is a proposal and is not open.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Medicaid for the parent at or under $1,705 a month for four, $1,411.53 for three, effective March 1, 2026.

  • $1,118.06/month — Household of 2, published monthly ceiling (62%)
  • $1,411.53/month — Household of 3, published monthly ceiling (62%)
  • $1,705/month — Household of 4, published monthly ceiling (62%)
  • $1,998.46/month — Household of 5, published monthly ceiling (62%)
  • $2,291.93/month — Household of 6, published monthly ceiling (62%)

Covers: Full Healthy Connections cover for the adult who qualifies

What it costs the family: No premium was published for this category.

The eligibility facts, as published

Income
at or below 62% of the poverty line, published monthly cells effective March 1, 2026
Who
a parent or other caretaker relative living with the child
Residency
South Carolina
Note
South Carolina has not adopted the wider adult group. The proposed Palmetto Pathways waiver is not open.

The trap: Assuming that because the child got Healthy Connections, the parent will too. The parent's line is far lower than the child's: 62% of the poverty line against 208%.

Where I read this

← Back to your options