Governor McMaster Delivers His Final State of the State Address
Governor Henry McMaster’s 2026 State of the State address marked a historic milestone for South Carolina, cementing his status as the state’s longest-serving governor.
His final address had a wide sweep, focusing on his long-term vision of “The South Carolina Century” driven by transformative investment and long-term stability.
For the South Carolina hospital community particularly, the speech highlighted the state’s efforts to modernize care and securing our state’s healthcare future.
Investing in World-Class Care
While not explicitly mentioned in his address, the Governor did acknowledge a general need for investment given the high level of out-of-state population growth in recent years. He has been supportive of two transformational clinical investments in particular:
- The MUSC Comprehensive Cancer Hospital, which in his Executive Budget received a proposed $115 million investment to construct a new National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated facility at the Medical University of South Carolina, ensuring South Carolinians have access to top-tier cancer treatment and research at home, and
- The USC Neurological Center, a $100 million commitment for a new neurological hospital at the University of South Carolina. Featuring an 80-bed critical care unit and a 32-bed rehabilitation unit, this facility is designed to provide specialized care for stroke and brain-related conditions, directly addressing the health needs of the “stroke belt.”
A Restructuring of Health Bureaucracy and a Unified Approach to Mental Health
Governor McMaster highlighted the structural reform of the state’s health bureaucracy as another primary achievement. This included the re-organization of the former Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC) into two separate agencies, the Department of Public Health (DPH) and Department of Environmental Services (DES), as well as a consolidation of behavioral health services. The latter, by creating a unified, cabinet-level agency, was a broad first stroke towards eliminating the “fragmented and siloed” nature of the previous system which the Governor has repeatedly called “the worst in the nation.”
This transition to a streamlined, accountable model is a vital first step in providing South Carolinians facing behavioral health challenges coordinated, “whole-person” care.
Strengthening the Healthcare Pipeline
The Governor reiterated that a “trained and healthy workforce” is South Carolina’s ultimate competitive advantage. To sustain this, his 2026 agenda continues to focus on the healthcare workforce pipeline in important ways:
- Technical College Scholarships: Sustained lottery funding for the SC WINS program, providing free tuition for thousands of South Carolinians pursuing nursing and other high-demand clinical certifications.
- Cradle-to-Career Support: By raising the starting teacher’s salary to $50,500, the Governor noted the importance of the educational “upstream” factors that contribute to a healthy, literate, and productive workforce.
A Note of Gratitude
The South Carolina Hospital Association extends its deepest gratitude to Governor Henry McMaster for his nine years of steadfast leadership. From supporting our healthcare workforce development needs to championing historic investments in MUSC and USC, his administration has provided a stable environment for our hospitals to innovate.
We thank the Governor for his advocacy for our clinicians and his vision of a healthier, more prosperous South Carolina.