Ranked 3 of 15 states · median $636/mo · CMS PY2026
Prefer to talk? Call (713) 575-9904
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 23 States
A 40-year-old landscape contractor in South Carolina pays a median $636/month for a Silver plan before subsidies — 3th of 15 on cost. The cheapest plan in the state is $456 from Ambetter from Absolute Total Care in Abbeville. On highest out-of-pocket maximum, South Carolina ranks 11 of 15 for this occupation.
Trade work concentrates cost into rare, expensive events rather than spreading it across the year. That inverts the usual shopping logic: a lower premium with a $9,200 ceiling is a worse deal than a higher premium with a $6,000 one, because the ceiling is what you actually hit. These rankings follow the ceiling.
Occupational context: Heat illness; equipment injury; pesticide exposure.
None of that changes your price. ACA plans in South Carolina are community rated — premium varies by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size only. Your occupation cannot be used to rate you, decline you, or exclude a condition. What it changes is which plan design is the right bet.
Premium is set by rating area, so a landscape contractor in one South Carolina county can pay materially more than one an hour away. Six counties from across the state, cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old:
| County | Cheapest Silver @40 | Issuer | Deductible | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester | $590 | Ambetter from Absolute Total Care | $6,000 | 5 |
| Union | $641 | First Choice Next | $6,000 | 5 |
| Bamberg | $498 | Ambetter from Absolute Total Care | $6,000 | 3 |
| Darlington | $529 | InStil Health | $6,500 | 4 |
| Marion | $545 | Ambetter from Absolute Total Care | $6,000 | 4 |
| Hampton | $555 | Molina Healthcare | $7,000 | 4 |
The spread across just these six is $143/month — $1,718 a year for the same metal tier. Statewide the range runs $456 to $931. Coverage by County publishes all 46 South Carolina counties individually.
| South Carolina — worst-case exposure | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Lowest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $3,400 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $10,600 |
| Cheapest Gold plan @40 | $476 — Ambetter from Absolute Total Care |
| Gold deductible | $2,000 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $456 — Ambetter from Absolute Total Care |
| Cheapest Silver @50 | $637 |
For a landscape contractor, the gap between $3,400 and $10,600 in annual out-of-pocket maximum is worth more than any premium difference on this page. One serious injury reaches that ceiling regardless of which plan you picked.
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file. 2,518 plan records across 46 South Carolina counties. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits — verify at enrollment.
Cheaper for the same coverage: Indiana ($558), Ohio ($625). More expensive: Alabama ($680), Wisconsin ($687), Michigan ($708).
Side-by-side: South Carolina vs Indiana · South Carolina vs Ohio · South Carolina vs Alabama · South Carolina vs Wisconsin
This only matters if you can actually choose — you buy in the state where you live, not where you work. If you are a landscape contractor who moved this year, that move is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrollment period.
Deduction categories that generally fit this trade: Equipment, truck, trailer, materials, licensing. Note the ordering problem with health premiums: the §162(l) deduction lowers your AGI, and your AGI is what sets your premium tax credit, so the two calculate against each other. That is a CPA conversation and worth having before you enroll, not after.
If your household income is above the subsidy range, ACA is not automatically the answer. There are other categories of coverage that may fit, and they work very differently. That is a conversation, not a web page.
The cheapest Silver plan for a 40-year-old in South Carolina is $456 per month from Ambetter from Absolute Total Care, with a state median of $636. Both figures are full price before premium tax credits; most buyers pay less after subsidies.
It cannot happen on an exchange plan. Rating in South Carolina uses four inputs only: age, ZIP code, tobacco use and how many people are on the policy. Trade, injury history and pre-existing conditions are all excluded from pricing by law.
Yes. Plan types filed for 2026: EPO, HMO, POS, PPO.
South Carolina ranks 3 of 15 states covered here, at a median $636 per month. Indiana is cheapest at $558 and Nebraska is most expensive at $875.
Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2026.
This occupation is below the cliff in all 21 states reported.
What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers (SOC 37-3011) in South Carolina. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed landscape contractor. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.
Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2026 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $62,600 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.
This page compares states. For South Carolina specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — I publish that on Coverage by County, including a page written for Landscape Contractors in South Carolina and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.
South Carolina has 6 carriers filing across 46 counties right now. That list is rebuilt every year, so what you can choose from in November may not match what you see today — and for a landscape contractor buying your own cover, who stays matters more than the headline rate.
On price the only honest number today is national: the Peterson-KFF read of 2027 filings puts the median proposed rise near 15%, spanning −1% to 54%. Final South Carolina rates are not approved, so any precise 2027 figure quoted for this state is guesswork.
The window opens November 1, 2026, and December 15 is the date worth writing down — it is what secures January 1 cover in South Carolina and everywhere else. You will find later dates quoted; they stem from a 2025 rule that was vacated in June 2026 and is under appeal.
All 46 counties in South Carolina sell a PPO, which is unusual and useful. For a landscape contractor covering ground, it is the plan type that travels best.
Nothing about 2027 is urgent yet, which is exactly why it is worth ten minutes now. Come November you will be choosing between South Carolina’s carriers under a deadline; today you can do it without one.
Give me a ZIP and I will tell you three things:
The sticker price is rarely what Landscape Contractors in South Carolina end up paying. Start with a ZIP and I will work out your actual number.