COBRA vs. the Marketplace After You Lose Your Job: A Real Cost Comparison

COBRA is your federal right to keep the exact health plan you had at your old job for up to 18 months. Same network, same deductible, same prescription drug list. You just pay the full premium yourself, including the portion your employer used to cover, plus a 2 percent administrative fee.

You have 60 days from the date you lose coverage to elect COBRA. If you elect within those 60 days, coverage is retroactive to the day you lost it. That second part matters. It's the reason you should never panic-buy COBRA on day one.

When you lose employer coverage, you trigger a 60-day Special Enrollment Period on the marketplace. That means you can shop right now, even if it's not November. And because you just had a major income change (your salary dropped, possibly to zero), your subsidy estimate is based on your new, lower income.

Real numbers we see weekly. A family of four in Phoenix, household income that was $180,000, COBRA quote of $2,100 per month. Same family on a marketplace silver plan after layoff income projection: $640 per month with subsidy. That's a $17,520 swing for the year.

Three scenarios make COBRA the right call.

• You're mid-treatment with a specialist who isn't in any marketplace network. Switching plans means switching doctors, which means restarting prior authorizations.
• You've already met your deductible and out-of-pocket max for the year. Starting a new plan resets both to zero, which often costs more than just paying COBRA through year-end.
• Your new job starts in fewer than 60 days and the employer plan starts on day one. You use the COBRA election window as a free safety net without ever paying a premium.

Here is what most people don't know. You can wait the full 60 days, then decide. If you have a medical event during that window, you elect COBRA, pay retroactively, and the event is covered. If nothing happens, you let the window expire and enroll in a marketplace plan instead.

This is legal. It's the way COBRA was designed. The election window is your free bridge. Use it.

Pull your COBRA election notice and note the deadline. Don't sign it yet. Get a marketplace quote based on your new income, not your old salary. Compare total annual cost (premium + likely out of pocket) on both, not just the monthly premium.

If you want, a Plansure broker will run the numbers with you. No charge, no obligation. The carriers pay us either way.