Overview
While South Carolina law does not mandate an all-payer claims database (APCD), the Division of Medicaid Policy Research at the University of South Carolina Institute for Families in Society maintains a private database of voluntary claims submissions. The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS), which operates the state’s Medicaid program, partnered with several agencies to launch an ambitious price and quality transparency website, SCHealthData.org. SCDHHS aims to increase transparency in health care by providing revenue and utilization data, hospital chargemasters, and comparative price statistics for common DRGS. The state also proposed legislation in both surprise billing protections and shared savings program to contain healthcare costs.
In healthcare market competition, South Carolina law requires notice to the Attorney General as well as approval for mergers and acquisitions of health facilities, but for those involving non-profit entities only. The state also requires notice to the certificate of need-issuing agency but does not require a certificate of need for healthcare facility mergers. In 2014, a merger involving Community Health Systems (CHS) was challenged by the FTC. As a condition to acquire Health Management Associates, Inc, the FTC ordered CHS to divest hospitals and related assets in Alabama and South Carolina in order to resolve concerns that the combination would substantially lessen competition for general acute care inpatient services in those markets, as well as provide prior notice of future such acquisitions for 10 years. In a private antitrust case brought in South Carolina District Court, Sisters of Charity Providence Hospital alleged that Palmetto Health conspired with an orthopedic surgery practice group to monopolize orthopedic surgery services in Richland County. The case was dismissed in the lower court and affirmed by the Fourth Circuit in 2018.
In 2023, the state enacted the “State Health Facility Licensure Act”, eliminating references to certificate of need requirements for most health care facilities except nursing homes. The act also requires the Medical University of South Carolina to obtain approval from the Joint Bond Review Committee and Fiscal Accountability Authority before acquiring a hospital, and establishes a certificate of need study committee to examine the effect of the repeal of the certificate of need program on the quality and quantity of access to health care in rural areas of the state. The new law also includes provisions related to licensing requirements for hospitals and ambulatory surgical facilities.
See below for an overview of existing South Carolina state mandates. Click on citation tab for detailed information of specific statutes (click link to download statute text).
State Action
Latest Legislative Session: 1/10/2023 - 1/8/2023 (2023-2024 term). *Current session bill updates are ongoing. Check back weekly for updates.
H 3115 – South Carolina
Introduced: 2017 Status: Inactive / Dead
To amend the code of laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding Article 9 to Chapter 6, Title 44 so as to enact the “South Carolina Access to Health Care Act” to direct the State […]
H 3161 (see companion bill S 290 and H 3223) – South Carolina
Introduced: 2021 Status: Inactive / Dead
To amend sections 44-7-110, 44-7, 120, 44-7-130, 44-7-140, 44-7-150, and 44-7-320 of the 1975 Code, all relating to the regulation of health care facilities in the state, to eliminate references to certificate of need requirements; […]
H 3223 (see companion bill S 290 and H 3161) – South Carolina
Introduced: 2021 Status: Inactive / Dead
To amend sections 44-7-110, 44-7, 120, 44-7-130, 44-7-140, 44-7-150, and 44-7-320 of the 1975 Code, all relating to the regulation of health care facilities in the state, to eliminate references to certificate of need requirements; […]
H 3226 – South Carolina
Introduced: 2021 Status: Inactive / Dead
Amend the code of laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding section 44-6-120 so as to provide that beginning January 1, 2022, an adult sixty-five years of age or younger whose income is at or […]
H 3226 (see companion bill S 996) – South Carolina
Introduced: 2022 Status: Inactive / Dead
A bill to amend the code of laws of South Carolina, 1976, by adding section 44-6-120 so as to provide that beginning January 1, 2022, an adult sixty-five years of age or younger whose income […]
H 5038 – South Carolina
Introduced: 2018 Status: Enacted
PHARMACY BENEFIT MANAGER: Would prohibit a pharmacy benefits manager from prohibiting or penalizing a pharmacy or pharmacist from informing the patient of a lower cost including the cash price. A pharmacy benefit manager may not […]
S.C. Code Ann. § 33-11-101. Merger: Merger and Share Exchange – South Carolina
Introduced: Status: Enacted
Describes which entities may merge and conditions to merge.
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S.C. Code Ann. § 33-11-102. Share Exchange: Merger and Share Exchange – South Carolina
Introduced: Status: Enacted
A corporation may acquire all of the outstanding shares of one or more classes or series of another corporation if the board of directors of each corporation adopts and its shareholders, if required by Section […]
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S.C. Code Ann. § 33-11-103. Action of Plan: Merger and Share Exchange – South Carolina
Introduced: Status: Enacted
After adopting a plan of merger or share exchange, the board of directors of each corporation party to the merger, and the board of directors of the corporation whose shares are to be acquired in […]
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S.C. Code Ann. § 33-11-104. Merger of Subsidiary: Merger and Share Exchange – South Carolina
Introduced: Status: Enacted
A parent corporation owning at least ninety percent of the outstanding shares of each class of a subsidiary corporation may merge the subsidiary into itself without approval of the shareholders of the parent or subsidiary.
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In the Matter of Community Health Systems, Inc. and Health Management Associates, Inc. – Alabama, South Carolina
District Court: United States of America Before The Federal Trade Commission Status: Decided
In April 2014, the Federal Trade Commission issued its final order in connection with Community Health Systems, Inc.’s proposed $7.6 billion acquisition of rival health system Health […]
SCPH Legacy Corporation v. Palmetto Health et al. – South Carolina
District Court: South Carolina Status: Decided
In August 2016, Sisters of Charity Providence Hospital (SCPH) filed a suit against Palmetto Health, alleging that Palmetto conspired with a profitable orthopedic surgery practice group to […]
In Re: Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation – Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
District Court: Eastern District of Pennsylvania Status: Pending
Plaintiffs are attorney generals from 48 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, as well as classes of private plaintiffs that filed an antitrust […]
Additional Resources
STATE BUDGET
South Carolina operates on a yearly budget cycle. South Carolina’s fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 in the following year. Between September and October, agencies submit their budget requests to the governor. Budget hearings are held with state agencies in October. In January, the governor submits a proposed budget to the state legislature. The legislature adopts a budget in May. The passed budget is required to be balanced.
STATE LEGISLATURE
The state’s Legislature is comprised of 46 Senators, elected to four year terms, and 124 members of the House of Representatives, who serve two year terms. The General Assembly is in session each year from the second Tuesday in January until the second Thursday in May; however, the session can be extended under specific circumstances. Bills carry over from odd to even years.