You can still get a nationwide PPO in South Carolina through me. Here is how Grand Strand investors who own vacation condos and long-term rentals fit their health coverage to a seasonal, sometimes lumpy income.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber. I'm a Tampa-based health insurance broker with licenses in 36 states, and I work with South Carolina landlords and investors over the phone.
Imagine an investor who lives in Surfside Beach and owns five oceanfront condos she rents by the week through a local management company, plus two long-term rentals in Conway. June through August pays for most of the year. Fall and winter bring golfers and snowbirds, then a long quiet stretch. She's also thinking about selling one condo that has nearly doubled in value. Her coverage comes from HealthCare.gov, and the right plan depends on which of those years she's buying for.
Horry County's marketplace offers 48 individual medical plans for 2026 from three insurers: 26 HMOs, 13 EPOs and 9 PPOs. A 40-year-old shopping silver plans with no subsidy would pay 24% more for the least expensive PPO than for the least expensive HMO.
Through me, you can still get a nationwide PPO in South Carolina as well. It's priced on your health rather than set by the marketplace, and its network reaches family, travel and any property you own out of state.
HealthCare.gov counts net rental income, so what matters is what's left after the management company's cut, cleaning, HOA and condo assessments, insurance, repairs, interest and depreciation, plus the rest of the household's income. The credit applies up to four times the federal poverty level.
Two things make an investor's year swing. A sale adds the gain to modified adjusted gross income, which is what the credit is figured from. And at the other end, South Carolina hasn't expanded Medicaid: adults without children generally can't qualify, and the credit generally starts at 100% of the poverty level. A year of heavy depreciation and repairs can, on paper, push a household toward a gap with no help on either side.
Buy on HealthCare.gov, where the credit applies. The credit is anchored to a benchmark silver plan, so choosing the PPO means paying its extra 24% yourself. If your doctors are in an HMO or EPO network on the Grand Strand, that's usually the better value. If they're in Charlotte or Wilmington, or you split the year somewhere else, the PPO's out-of-network coverage can be worth the difference.
Next step: Send me last year's Schedule E and your doctors, and I'll price the Horry County options with your credit applied.
A sale can carry one year far beyond the credit range. If you've been receiving credit in advance and the gain lifts income past your estimate, the excess comes back on your tax return, and for tax years after 2025 there's no cap. Make the coverage decision before the condo is listed.
At full price, a healthy investor often does better on a private plan. The insurer reviews your health answers and approves, approves with one condition excluded, or declines. In good health, the premium frequently lands under the marketplace's full rate, on a network that works anywhere. We compare each plan's benefits before you choose.
Next step: Call me before you list, and I'll compare a nationwide PPO quote with HealthCare.gov's full prices for the sale year.
If a hurricane-season roof job and a slow winter drop net rental income near the poverty line, check your numbers before enrolling. Below 100%, the credit generally isn't available, and without children at home, South Carolina Medicaid generally isn't either. A careful estimate, sometimes including when to sell, can keep you on the right side of that line.
Next step: In a lean year, call me before you enroll and we'll see where your household really lands.
Stay on HealthCare.gov even at full price. Marketplace plans accept everyone and can't charge more for a diagnosis. With three insurers in Horry County, the task is confirming which network includes your specialists.
Next step: List your doctors and prescriptions, and I'll narrow the Grand Strand plans to those that keep them.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Yes. Horry County has nine, and the least expensive silver PPO costs 24% more than the least expensive silver HMO.
Yes. HealthCare.gov counts net rental income as household income.
It can. South Carolina hasn't expanded Medicaid, and the credit generally starts at 100% of the federal poverty level.
Yes. Healthy investors can buy one privately through me.
Send me your county, the people who need coverage, last year's Schedule E and any sale you're planning. I'll match that year to the right plan and show you real prices.
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