Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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Ohio is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $625/month for the median Silver plan, versus $636 — a difference of $11/month (2%) before subsidies.
| Ohio | South Carolina | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $625 | $636 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $482 | $456 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $924 | $931 |
| Age 27 | $395 | $374 |
| Age 60 | $1,023 | $968 |
| Carriers | 11 | 6 |
| Counties | 88 | 46 |
| 1-carrier counties | 0 | 0 |
| Plan types | HMO | EPO, HMO, POS, PPO |
Network note: Ohio has no PPO plans in 2026 while South Carolina does. If you work across county or state lines that difference matters more than the premium gap.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits; not a quote or an offer of coverage.
This page sets two states against each other. For county-by-county carriers, plan data and help actually enrolling, I publish a page for each state on Coverage by County: Ohio or South Carolina. There is also a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment periods.
Change the age or income and both states recalculate: the 2027 marketplace price after any tax credit, and the private plan estimate.
| Monthly, age 45, $85,000 | Ohio | South Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace benchmark Silver, full price | $674 | $778 |
| Tax credit | none | none |
| You pay for the benchmark plan | $674 | $778 |
| Private plan estimate (low end: no deductible) | $275–$435 | $350–$505 |
At 45 on $85,000, the benchmark plan costs $1,248 a year more in South Carolina than in Ohio, at full price in both, since that income is over the tax-credit line.
2027 estimates: KFF 2026 benchmark raised by each state’s average 2027 change, on the federal age curve; 2027 tax credit rules. Your county will differ. Every state at once: what you would pay in each state.
Put your ZIP code in and a licensed agent will show you the carriers filing in your county, what the cheapest plan costs, and what you would actually pay after any help you qualify for. No cost, and you talk to a licensed agent — not a call center.
You do not have to wait for the next open enrollment. A permanent move between these two opens a 60-day special enrollment period from the day you arrive, which is the window in which you would pick from the 6 carriers writing across South Carolina’s 46 counties. Watch the fine print: qualifying coverage for at least one day in the preceding 60 is generally required, and a move for medical care or a vacation does not count.
Your plan will not come with you. Marketplace coverage is sold state by state, so the Ohio policy ends and a South Carolina application begins — new network, new premium, even if the name on the card stays the same.
Molina Healthcare and UnitedHealthcare write on both sides of the line — Ohio fields 11 carriers in total, South Carolina fields 6. Keeping the same insurer smooths the admin and changes little else, since the network is rebuilt per state.
This is the asymmetry that bites. South Carolina has PPO plans across all 46 counties; Ohio sells none in any of its 88. The PPO is the plan type most likely to pay outside its own network, so heading toward Ohio usually costs you the ability to see South Carolina providers for anything short of an emergency.
You cannot carry one plan in Ohio and a second in South Carolina. Eligibility follows primary residence, the address on your return, and everything received in the other state is normally out of network.
State averages hide enormous county-level spread. Whichever of Ohio or South Carolina you are in, your ZIP is what sets your premium.
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