Getting the COBRA bill a few weeks later can feel like a second punch.
The average family premium under COBRA now runs north of $2,000 a month, and many laid-off workers are discovering their old employer's plan is the most expensive option on the table.
COBRA lets you keep your workplace coverage after leaving a job, but you pay the full freight yourself.
That means your share plus whatever your employer used to chip in, plus a 2% administrative fee.
When companies were quietly subsidizing $1,500 of a $2,100 family plan, you never felt it.
According to 2024 data from KFF, the average annual premium for employer-sponsored family coverage hit roughly $25,500.
An individual plan averaged about $8,950.
As a COBRA enrollee, you're on the hook for nearly all of it.
But here's the part that frustrates consumer advocates: most people never shop around.
A recent survey found that a large share of eligible workers assume COBRA is their only lifeline.
The Affordable Care Act marketplace is open to anyone who loses job-based coverage, and that triggers a special enrollment window of 60 days.
Subsidies can shrink the gap dramatically.
Depending on your income, premium tax credits can cut marketplace plan costs by hundreds of dollars a month.
Some households qualify for plans that cost less than a single COBRA payment.
The catch is you have to apply and compare before the window closes.
You generally have 60 days from the date your coverage ends to elect COBRA, and a separate 60-day window to enroll in a marketplace plan.
Miss both and you could be uninsured until the next open enrollment period, unless you qualify for Medicaid or a special exception.
One trap worth flagging: if you sign up for COBRA first and then switch to a marketplace plan, you can drop COBRA, but you won't get those premium tax credits retroactively for the months you were on COBRA.
So the order you choose can cost you real money.
Spouses and dependents deserve a second look too.
Sometimes it's cheaper to split the family across two plans, or to put the kids on a marketplace plan while one adult keeps COBRA for a specific doctor or prescription.
It sounds complicated, but a navigator can run the numbers for free.
If you're staring down a COBRA bill, three moves are worth making this week.
Check whether you qualify for marketplace subsidies at Healthcare.gov.
Call your state's insurance navigator program, which offers free help.
And ask your former HR department exactly when coverage ends, since that date starts your clock.
Final Thoughts
But a five-figure annual premium doesn't have to be the default just because it arrives in an official-looking envelope.