The Office of Consumer Services provides assistance to consumers on a wide range of insurance claims and policy issues and responds to consumer complaints. The office: responds to consumer needs relating to auto, health, homeowners' and life insurance; provides consumers with market assistance by helping to locate hard-to-place insurance coverage within the insurance market; and assists consumers following a catastrophic event.

The Health Insurance Benefit Program (HIB) processes initial applications for Medicare certification and conducts recertification surveys of hospitals, home health agencies, portable X-ray, rehabilitation agencies, rural health clinics, end-stage renal disease facilities, comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, hospices and swing bed units of hospitals. The HIB program also processes initial applications for Medicare Certification for Community Mental Health Centers, Prospective Payment System (PPS)-exempt status for psychiatric and rehabilitation units in hospitals, PPS-exempt status for long-term care hospitals and hospital within a hospital.

The Center on Aging is a research, service and education center. It includes the Healthy Aging Committee, whose goals are to "develop a comprehensive and coordinated system of health care delivery for older individuals."

The Lieutenant Governor’s Office on Aging tracks changes in the Medicare program to help South Carolina seniors approaching Medicare eligibility choose which program is right for them.

The South Carolina Health Insurance Pool (SCHIP) provides health insurance coverage to South Carolina residents who cannot obtain coverage because of a medical condition or because the premium for health coverage exceeds 150 percent of the pool rate. The program offers Medicare Supplement Plans (Medigap) through several plans administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina.

The Office of Licensing and Education Services is responsible for administering statutes and regulations governing the initial and continued licensing of insurance producers, surplus brokers, adjusters, public adjusters, motor vehicle physical damage appraisers, agencies, bail bondsmen, and private review agents. This office is also responsible for administering statutes and regulations governing the prelicensing and continuing education of individuals.

The Department of Social Services works to protect children and adults who cannot protect themselves.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) is charged with protecting public health, coastal resources, and the state's land, air and water quality as authorized under multiple state and federal laws. Approximately 3,500 full-time DHEC employees around the state support communities by: promoting health; providing vital health care and other direct services; monitoring pollution; coordinating disease control; carrying out the agency's inspection and regulatory responsibilities; responding to environmental emergencies; and protecting public health and the environment in numerous other ways. DHEC is governed by a seven-member board appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the state Senate. Six members come from the state’s congressional districts, and one is an at-large member. The board appoints a commissioner to manage the agency’s day-to-day operations. The commissioner must be confirmed by the state Senate, and serves a four-year term.

Adult Protective Services protects the health and welfare of elderly and disabled adults.

The Department of Insurance regulates private insurance companies that sell Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) polices.

The governor's office may be contacted concerning budget and policy issues regarding senior citizens or elderly health care issues related to Medicare.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is the primary governing body for the state's Medicaid program, but it also enforces compliance of Medicare standards.

SCAccess is an Internet-based information source for seniors and adults with disabilities. The program includes 10 Aging and Disability Resource Centers scattered throughout the state. Each center includes an information specialist who can answer questions by phone or in person.

The Family Caregiver Support Program offers services and support to unpaid family caregivers.

The South Carolina Center for Gerontology is a consortium of state-supported institutions of higher education that presently includes Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University, Lander University, the Medical University of South Carolina, South Carolina State University, the University of South Carolina and Winthrop University.

The Long-Term Care Program surveys nursing facilities and skilled nursing facilities for compliance with Medicare/Medicaid Standards and Conditions of Participation, expressed as Enforcement Regulations under 42 CFR. Surveyors are registered nurses, social workers, pharmacists, dieticians and generalists.

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that advocates for people ages 50 and older. Since 1958, AARP has lobbied for senior issues, including the passage of Medicare in 1965. AARP offers support from staffed offices in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The South Carolina Hospital Association tracks proposed and new changes to Medicare and informs care providers about how those changes affect them. The association also advocates for fair and equitable implementation of the program.

The South Carolina Association of Councils on Aging Directors is a nonprofit grassroots organization that serves as the substantive link for all aging services in the state of South Carolina.

The South Carolina Association of Residential Care Homes (SCARCH) is dedicated to representing assisted living, residential care facilities, home care, home health and hospice groups throughout the state. SCARCH’s services include training, research, publications, conferences and advocacy relations.

The South Carolina Health Care Association is a statewide nonprofit founded in 1955 that represents most of the state’s long-term care facilities.

Aging Services of South Carolina is dedicated to educating its members and giving them a voice in the political arena by supporting public policy initiatives that maintain high standards for quality care, patient rights, and equitable access to care.

The Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) program helps Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries avoid, detect and prevent health care fraud. The goal is to protect older people and to preserve the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The federal program was created in 1996 by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and amended in 2006 by Titles II and IV of the Older Americans Act.

This program goes by two names in South Carolina — Insurance Counseling Assistance and Referrals for Elders (I-CARE) and the name it is called in most other states, the State Health Insurance Program (SHIP). The State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) is a national program that offers counseling and assistance to people with Medicare and to their families. Coordinators provide counseling on Medicare benefits, Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (Part D), Social Security, Medicaid and veterans' benefits. SHIP, formerly the Information, Counseling and Assistance (ICA) grants program, was created under section 4360 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990. This act authorized the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to make grants to states for health advisory services programs for people with Medicare.

The long-term care ombudsman advocates for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The office resolves complaints and educates seniors and long-term care providers about their rights and good care practices. The ombudsman also provides information to the public on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities and services, residents' rights, and legislative and policy issues. In 1978, an amendment to the federal Older Americans Act required every state to have an ombudsman program that addresses complaints and advocates for improvements in the long-term care system. The ombudsman program is administered by the Administration on Aging (AoA).

The Carolinas Center for Medical Care Excellence is the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for the state of South Carolina. QIOs are private, mostly not-for-profit organizations, staffed by doctors and other health care professionals, who are trained to review medical care, to help beneficiaries with complaints about the quality of care and to implement improvements in the quality of care available throughout the spectrum of care. QIOs are required under Sections 1152-1154 of the Social Security Act.

The Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) were established under the Older Americans Act (OAA) Comprehensive Services Amendments in 1973 to respond to the needs of Americans 60 and older in every local community. The amendments added a new Title V, which authorized grants to local community agencies in every state. The AAAs provide a range of options that allow older adults to choose the home- and community-based services and living arrangements that suit them best. There are 10 Area Agencies on Aging spread across South Carolina. They are excellent resources for local community issues as well.

David L. Dunlap has been president and CEO of Roper St. Francis Healthcare since June 2003. Dunlap holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Memphis and a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Michael C. Riordan is president and CEO of the Greenville Hospital System University Medical Center, which oversees Greenville Memorial Hospital, since 2006. Previously, he served as president and CEO of the University of Chicago Hospital and Health System. Riordan holds a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts/English and a master’s degree in Education/Psychology from Columbia University. He also holds a master’s degree in Health Systems from the Georgia Institute of Technology

Raymond S. Greenberg became president of the Medical University of South Carolina in January 2000, after serving as a medical school faculty member at Emory University and as founding dean of the Rollin School of Public Health. He came to the Medical University in 1995. He holds a bachelor’s degree and doctoral degree from the University of North Carolina, a master’s degree from Harvard University, and a medical degree from Duke University.

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee vets bills moving through South Carolina’s General Assembly that affect the banking and insurance industries, and confirms gubernatorial appointments to key agencies, including the South Carolina Department of Insurance.

The Health and Environmental Affairs Subcommittee vets bills relating to health and environmental issues. This committee is under the Medical, Military, Public And Municipal Affairs Committee.

The Senate Medical Affairs Committee vets bills moving through South Carolina’s General Assembly that deal with medical affairs, and approves gubernatorial appointments to state agencies, including the state Department of Health and Human Services, which deals primarily with Medicaid.

The House Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee deals with bills pertaining to medical affairs, Social Security, prisons, the state hospital, police force, military and veterans’ affairs.