South Carolina disability advocates push for better benefits

As bills aimed at enhancing benefits for people with disabilities continue to linger in the South Carolina General Assembly, time is running out for this year’s legislative session.

Representatives of organizations that advocate for people with disabilities presented requests to the state government in March on Disability Advocacy Day at the South Carolina Statehouse. 

“Medicaid for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is a lifeline,” said Margie Williamson, the executive director of the Arc of South Carolina, a disability rights organization.  

“It’s a necessity,” Williamson said. “We can also have private health insurance, but private health insurance is not going to afford a job coach, or it’s not going to afford for somebody whose parents need to continue working a place for them to go in the daytime.”

Some disability advocates have backed House Bill 3377, which would add a statewide advisory referendum to 2026 general election ballots asking voters whether they want to expand Medicaid, beginning in 2028, to disabled people – and others – under 65 years old and below a certain income threshold.

Since the referendum is only advisory, it means it wouldn’t guarantee changes. But it would signal to officials a desire for expanded Medicaid benefits. 

The bill was pre-filed in December and referred in January to the Judiciary Committee, where it remains.

Advocates say expanding Medicaid would help people with disabilities overcome challenges with long waits, too little money for benefits and not enough access to resources.

“These are agenda items that people with disabilities have really pushed to say these are things that we need to be successful, like public transportation, education, health care, Medicaid, employment, housing, you know, just to name a few of those,” Williamson said.

Elite Home Care, Day Centers & Transportation has more than a dozen locations in South Carolina, including in Columbia. Tammy McDonald, a nurse administrator at Elite, said the centers are filling rapidly. She’s hoping for funding to expand.

“We can only take 63, and we’re already at max capacity,” McDonald said. “I know our owners have talked about expanding – maybe opening in Lexington, because we get a lot from that area.”

She said more funding for nurses is necessary.

“I don’t think they’ve done a rate increase in years from what they pay,” McDonald said. “That would be nice if they increased, because, you know, the cost of living for getting aides and nurses” has risen.

The Counseling and Rehabilitation Student Association at USC also points to the state’s need for Medicaid expansion. Advocacy is part of the association’s work, according to Vice President Allie Ledbetter. 

“I guess it’s hard being a student org, because you don’t want to bring too much politics in it,” Ledbetter said. “But right now, Medicaid funding is potentially being cut, and so we’ve been trying to pass the word along with scripts and how to contact your representatives.”

The Senate recognized March 5 as Disability Advocacy Day this year. Williamson said the government is receptive to requests but the work is ongoing. 

“Advocacy doesn’t happen on one day,” Williamson said. “Advocacy happens when they’re at home on recess. Advocacy happens by sending your senator a ‘thank you’ card after something happens. I mean, it never stops.”