When your Medicare comes from Social Security Disability Insurance, the cost picture is more predictable than most people expect — with one gap that matters more in South Carolina than elsewhere.

The 2026 numbers

  • Part A premium: $0 when your Medicare is based on SSDI
  • Part A hospital deductible: $1,736 for each benefit period
  • Hospital days 61–90: $434 a day
  • Lifetime reserve days 91–150: $868 a day
  • Part B premium: $202.90 a month, higher if your income is higher
  • Part B annual deductible: $283
  • Part B coinsurance: generally 20% of each service

The part that catches people

That 20% has no annual cap under Original Medicare alone. There is no point in the year where it stops. For someone with a serious ongoing condition — which describes a lot of people who qualify for Medicare through disability — that is the number that matters most, and it is open-ended.

There are two ways to put a ceiling on it. A Medicare Supplement covers much of that 20%. A Medicare Advantage plan must set a yearly maximum out-of-pocket for in-network care.

Why South Carolina changes this calculation

Federal law does not require insurers to sell a Medicare Supplement to people under 65, and South Carolina has no law requiring it either. Access runs through the state pool. North Carolina requires insurers to offer Plan A plus D or G, and Tennessee requires the same plans sold at 65 to be offered under 65.

So in South Carolina the easier route to a spending ceiling is usually a Medicare Advantage plan's out-of-pocket maximum. That is not a recommendation — it is an explanation of why the comparison looks different here. Full detail in Medicare before 65 on disability in South Carolina.

Prescription costs

No Medicare drug plan can carry a deductible above $615 in 2026 or $700 in 2027. Once your out-of-pocket spending on covered Part D drugs reaches $2,100 in 2026 ($2,400 in 2027), you pay nothing more for covered drugs that year.

If money is tight

Medicare Savings Programs can pay the Part B premium, and Extra Help reduces drug costs. See help paying for Medicare in South Carolina for the 2026 limits.