For more than 30 years, Palmetto Project has advocated for improved access to healthcare for all South Carolinians.
Our current healthcare work is rooted in our legacy healthcare access program for low-income, uninsured South Carolinians.
In 1993, Palmetto Project launched Commun-I-Care to ensure no South Carolinian would go without medical care simply because they lacked insurance. We convened a statewide network of volunteer physicians and health professionals, who provided free medical, dental, and other health services to low-income, uninsured residents of the Palmetto State. We launched a free prescription drug program for Commun-I-Care patients in partnership with pharmaceutical companies, which evolved into the independent nonprofit known today as Welvista.
In 2008, we launched our Children’s Health SC program to enroll eligible families in Medicaid, and, in 2014, Palmetto Project was designated the South Carolina navigator for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Within the first year, South Carolina was 16th in the nation for ACA enrollments, totaling 210,331 (KFF, 2025).
In 2020, we continued our healthcare access work as Insure SC, the first statewide nonprofit health insurance brokerage in the Palmetto State. Our team of licensed health insurance agents help South Carolinians enroll in Medicaid, Medicare, and ACA/Marketplace plans. Our agents also routinely connect individuals with additional services to address the social drivers of health, like housing and nutrition.
Insure SC
In a complex healthcare system that can feel difficult to navigate, our compassionate, mission-driven, licensed health insurance agents can make all difference for the thousands of South Carolinians we have served.
Our services are always free & friendly. We can meet with anyone, anywhere in the state of South Carolina through virtual appointments. Our agents regularly offer in-person appointments in the greater Charleston and Pee Dee areas, and occasionally in other regions.
We are here to help.
OUR HEALTHCARE HISTORY AT A GLANCE
Heart & Soul
From 1997 until the 2010s, our faith-based cardiovascular health initiative accelerated a reduction in mortality rates from heart disease and stroke for Black/African Americans. Heart & Soul was created by Palmetto Project staff and volunteers, and trained trusted local leaders in the Lowcountry to provide health, nutritional, and disease-prevention education and outreach, garnering statewide & national attention and funding.
Commun-I-Care
Launched in 1993, Commun-I-Care introduced a volunteer healthcare provider network for the low-income, uninsured of South Carolina. Across South Carolina, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other professionals treated patients who did not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare and could not afford health insurance for free. With private, state, and federal funding, Commun-I-Care introduced a complementary pharmaceutical access program, which eventually evolved into the independent nonprofit Welvista. Today, Welvista continues to support thousands of South Carolinians without health insurance through free prescriptions.