Medicare by region · Charleston, Summerville, Beaufort, Hilton Head & Bluffton
Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester, Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton and Hampton counties — the state’s biggest retirement magnet, MUSC and Roper St. Francis, Joint Base Charleston and the Marine installations at Beaufort, and a hurricane coast.
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Medicare in the region
Charleston County has one of the deepest Advantage menus in South Carolina, every Medigap carrier in the state, and a care map organized into systems that contract separately: MUSC Health downtown and across the region, Roper St. Francis in Charleston, West Ashley, Mount Pleasant and Berkeley County, HCA’s Trident hospitals in North Charleston and Summerville, and Novant Health’s East Cooper Medical Center. A plan that includes MUSC may exclude Roper, or the reverse.
South toward Beaufort, Hilton Head and Bluffton, the population is dominated by retirees who moved here — Sun City Hilton Head alone is a small city of them — and by Marine retirees from Parris Island and the air station. Beaufort Memorial and Novant’s Hilton Head and Hardeeville hospitals anchor the care; Savannah’s systems are across the river. Colleton and Hampton counties are rural, with one hospital apiece. We work both ends: confirming a Charleston plan’s network, and helping new arrivals use the windows a move opens.
What shapes the choice here: The Lowcountry adds more new Medicare beneficiaries than anywhere else in the state, and most of them arrive already on Medicare from another state. A move opens a Special Enrollment Period and, for people leaving an Advantage plan, a guaranteed-issue Medigap window; hurricane declarations open another. The care map is split among MUSC, Roper St. Francis, Trident and, since 2024, Novant.
Counties: Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester, Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton, Hampton.
Each contracts differently with each plan; we check your doctors first.
Turning 65? Your Initial Enrollment Period is the 7 months around your birthday. Already on Medicare? The Annual Election Period is Oct 15–Dec 7, and Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment runs Jan 1–Mar 31. Moving to South Carolina, losing a plan, or a FEMA hurricane declaration each open a Special Enrollment Period.
Your options
All-in-one Part C plans, often $0 premium, that use a local network — so your providers, your county and your prescriptions matter.
How Advantage worksMedigap pairs with Original Medicare and lets you see any provider nationwide that accepts Medicare — MUSC, Prisma, Duke or Emory across the line, or the hospital in your county seat.
How Medigap worksStandalone drug coverage chosen around your medications and pharmacy. 2026 out-of-pocket cap: $2,100.
How Part D worksAdvantage plans built for a chronic condition, for nursing-facility care, or for people with both Medicare and Healthy Connections Medicaid.
About SNPsQuestions from the Lowcountry
Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties typically offer a wide Medicare Advantage menu, every Medigap carrier in South Carolina, and the full Part D lineup. Beaufort County’s menu is broad; Jasper, Colleton and Hampton counties have fewer Advantage plans. Availability is set by county and changes each plan year.
A permanent move gives you a Special Enrollment Period to pick a plan sold in your new county, and leaving a Medicare Advantage plan because you moved out of its service area is a federal guaranteed-issue event: you can buy certain Medigap plans without health questions, generally within 63 days of the old coverage ending. South Carolina has no birthday rule afterward, so decide inside the window.
Nothing. Independent agents are paid by the carriers when you enroll, so comparing plans and reviewing your coverage each year is free to you.
Ready when you are
A short, friendly conversation — no pressure, no cost.
Written and reviewed by Darin Weidauer — licensed insurance agent (NPN 18580338, SC License #18580338), Gerontologist (USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology), MBA, Registered Social Security Analyst, and 22-year U.S. Air Force veteran.Last reviewed September 13, 2026. Plan availability, benefits and costs change every plan year — verify current details at Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE, or I-CARE (South Carolina SHIP) at 800-868-9095.