A number of studies have reported that both the health of South Carolinians and the state’s economy would improve if Medicaid were expanded to include 360,000 residents with very low incomes. Most recently, the Milken Institute School of Public Healthⁱ detailed the benefits for both the state and each county, citing the following data:

• number of people covered by Medicaid by county,
• level of new federal funding to each county,
• economic impact of this change, growth of economic output,
• increase in employment, both health care-related and non-health employment and
• increase in county and state tax revenue caused by the growth.

Despite the detailed and persuasive data, South Carolina remains one of ten states that has chosen not to cover this population made up of people with incomes between 67% - 100% of the Federal Poverty Level, ($17,300-$26,800/year for family of 3).

COVERSC, a coalition of 200 organizations in the state, will be working during this legislative session to pass Medicaid expansion legislation. Some changes in the federal and state political environment may pose increased challenges.  LWVSC and LWVOP will be issuing a call in the near future – “all hands on deck!”  Please respond!