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Health Insurance for Small Business Owners in South Carolina: Solo to 20 Employees
The right answer changes with headcount. Here's the path for South Carolina business owners.
Just you (and family)
You're an individual buyer. Subsidy-eligible after deductions → HealthCare.gov. Above the line and healthy → private shared-network PPO on Cigna, Aetna and PHCS PPO. Deduct premiums above the line. South Carolina has a state income tax, so the self-employed health premium deduction reduces both federal and state taxable income.
Two lives — you plus one
A spouse on payroll, a partner, or one W-2 employee opens the small-group market, which is guaranteed-issue with employer-style networks. For two healthy people it's often close to two private plans; for two people where one has a condition, it's frequently the best answer.
3–20 employees
Level-funded and traditional small-group plans. Employer contribution is tax-deductible to the business, and offering coverage is a hiring advantage in Charleston's labor market. Under 50 employees there's no mandate to offer it — it's a choice.
Mixed 1099 and W-2 teams
Common in South Carolina: a couple of W-2 staff and a bench of 1099 contractors. The W-2s go on a group plan; the contractors each buy individually, and we can set them all up through the same office so nobody falls through.
South Carolina didn't expand Medicaid, and most marketplace plans here are narrow-network HMOs — which is why a national PPO is the thing self-employed buyers ask about first.
Check your options — tell us your headcount and we'll map the path.