Health Insurance in Horry County, SC: 2027 Plans, Prices & Hospitals (Myrtle Beach & Conway)

Horry County has four Marketplace carriers for 2027: Ambetter, BlueCross BlueShield of SC, First Choice Next (Select Health of South Carolina) and Oscar, which is new. No carrier is leaving. The benchmark silver plan rises from $498 to $656 a month (+31.7%), and it is still a BlueCross Blue Pee Dee plan, now Blue Pee Dee Silver 1. Unless noted, prices are full-price monthly premiums for a 40-year-old, before subsidies.

Even after that increase, Horry's benchmark is lower than most South Carolina counties'. The catch is the network: the benchmark plan includes Conway Medical Center but not Grand Strand Medical Center or McLeod Health Loris. Open Enrollment runs November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027. Enroll by December 15 for a January 1 start.

Horry County had the third-most Marketplace plan selections in South Carolina for 2026, equal to nearly 12% of residents. The average full-price premium was $613 a month, and the average enrollee paid $145 after tax credits. Horry's +31.7% benchmark increase ranks eighth-highest among the state's 46 counties.

Full-price monthly premiums before subsidies:

Bronze and gold at ages 27 and 60 are calculated from the age-40 price using the same age ratios as the filed benchmark rates.

Lowest full-price premium from each carrier, age 40:

The cheapest gold, from First Choice Next, costs less than Ambetter's and Oscar's lowest silver plans. For a 60-year-old, the benchmark rises $335 a month, or about $4,023 a year, before subsidies.

Oscar is new. Oscar adds 14 plans, which is most of the reason Horry County went from 48 plans to 62. At age 40, Oscar's full prices are the highest of the four carriers at every metal level, but its network includes Grand Strand Medical Center. Our Oscar 2027 review covers its plans and counties.

Nobody is leaving. Ambetter, BlueCross and First Choice Next all return. Ambetter grew from 9 plans to 17, and BlueCross went from 31 to 23.

The benchmark stayed with Blue Pee Dee but moved from Blue Pee Dee Silver 2 + Adult Vision to Blue Pee Dee Silver 1. Tax credits are set from the benchmark, so recheck your net price even if you keep the same carrier.

• Ambetter and BlueEssentials/BlueConnect include all three hospitals. If your household uses more than one, start there.
• Blue Pee Dee, the benchmark and cheapest bronze, includes Conway Medical Center only among these three.
• First Choice Next includes Grand Strand and Conway Medical, but not McLeod Loris.
• Oscar includes Grand Strand only among these three.
• South Strand residents: Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital in Murrells Inlet is listed in Georgetown County. It is in Ambetter and First Choice Next, and in BlueEssentials/BlueConnect and Blue Pee Dee with restrictions. See our Georgetown County page.

See our guides to Grand Strand, Conway and Tidelands networks and McLeod Health plans.

Networks and drug lists can change; we verify with the carrier before you enroll. Last verified: November 2026.

Horry County plans are HMOs, except BlueCross's BlueEssentials and BlueConnect EPOs. No PPOs are sold on the South Carolina Marketplace.

• Healthy, budget-first and near Conway: Blue Pee Dee Bronze 2 costs $449, the lowest premium in the county. Once you reach its $10,600 deductible, which doubles as the out-of-pocket maximum, the plan pays in full.
• Regular care in Myrtle Beach: First Choice Next Gold Enhanced, at $681, includes Grand Strand and Conway Medical. It has a $1,000 deductible, $35 primary care visits, $5 generics and a $10,000 out-of-pocket maximum.
• Lower household income: Price silver first. Households up to 250% of the federal poverty level get cost-sharing reductions on silver plans only, which lower deductibles and copays. Before those reductions, the benchmark Blue Pee Dee Silver 1 has a $7,000 deductible, $20 primary care visits and a $10,500 out-of-pocket maximum. See cost-sharing reductions explained.
• Loris, the North Strand or McLeod patients: Ambetter or BlueEssentials/BlueConnect, the only options here that include McLeod Loris.
• Self-employed or seasonal income: Your tax credit depends on your 2027 income estimate, so build it carefully with our income estimating guide and self-employed guide.

More: our South Carolina Marketplace guide and 2027 rate changes by county.