Ranked 3 of 15 states · median $636/mo · CMS PY2026
Licensed Independent Agent · NPN #22052447 · 21 States
A 40-year-old welder 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.
For work with real injury exposure the premium is the wrong headline number. What decides a bad year is the annual out-of-pocket maximum — the ceiling you stop paying at. A fall, a fracture, an imaging series and a course of physical therapy will reach that ceiling on any metal tier, so the states below are ordered by worst-case exposure.
Occupational context: Fume inhalation, arc eye, and burn risk; hearing loss.
Two things get confused here constantly. Risk exposure decides what coverage you should buy. It does not decide what you are charged — South Carolina carriers rate on age, ZIP, tobacco and family size, full stop. A welder with a bad back and a healthy 40-year-old office worker in the same county see the same number.
Premium is set by rating area, so a welder 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorchester | $564 | BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina | $7,900 | 4 |
| Pickens | $584 | BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina | $7,900 | 3 |
| Cherokee | $641 | First Choice Next | $6,000 | 5 |
| Horry | $497 | BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina | $7,900 | 3 |
| Kershaw | $518 | BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina | $7,900 | 5 |
| Jasper | $540 | Ambetter from Absolute Total Care | $6,000 | 3 |
The spread across just these six is $144/month — $1,726 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 | $0 |
| Highest annual out-of-pocket maximum | $0 |
| 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 welder, the gap between $0 and $0 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
A caveat on the table above: rating is by residence, not by job site. A welder living in South Carolina and working across a state line still buys South Carolina plans. A genuine permanent move does trigger a special enrollment period, but the plan year restarts with a fresh deductible.
Self-employed Welders in South Carolina typically deduct: Welding rig, consumables, PPE, truck, certification. Health premiums sit separately, above the line under IRC §162(l), and only when neither you nor a spouse could have joined an employer plan — eligibility disqualifies you even if you declined the coverage.
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.
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 Welders in South Carolina and a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment.