Then the paperwork arrives, and the sticker shock hits.
For millions of Americans, COBRA — the law that lets you keep your employer's health plan after you leave — has quietly turned into one of the most expensive line items a household can face.
Under COBRA, you pay the full premium yourself, plus a small administrative fee.
Your employer used to cover most of that.
According to KFF's annual survey, the average employer plan costs roughly $8,900 a year for single coverage and about $25,600 for a family — and workers typically paid only a fraction of that.
On COBRA, that fraction becomes the whole bill.
That math lands differently depending on where you live.
In states like New York, a family plan can run past $2,000 a month.
Even in cheaper markets, single coverage often clears $600 to $800 monthly.
For someone who just lost a paycheck, that's not a safety net.
There's a reason COBRA feels like a trap.
It was designed as a bridge, not a destination — a way to keep the same doctors and the same deductible while you figure out what's next.
The catch is that you have to keep paying, month after month, with no employer subsidy and no discount for loyalty.
Miss a payment and the coverage can vanish retroactively, sometimes leaving you on the hook for bills you thought were covered.
The alternative most people don't check: the ACA marketplace.
Thanks to enhanced subsidies, many households qualify for plans that cost far less than COBRA, especially if their income drops after a layoff.
A family of four earning $70,000 might find a silver plan for a few hundred dollars a month — versus $1,800 or more on COBRA.
The trade-off is narrower networks and new deductibles, but the savings can be the difference between keeping coverage and going without.
Losing job-based coverage counts as a qualifying life event, which opens a 60-day window to sign up on the marketplace.
COBRA has its own 60-day election period, and you can technically enroll in COBRA first and switch later — but only during the marketplace's special enrollment window, so timing is everything.
Then there's the wildcard: short-term health plans.
These are cheaper, heavily marketed, and often exclude pre-existing conditions, maternity care, and prescription coverage.
They look like a deal until you actually need them.
Insurers and brokers collect premiums either way.
Employers save money when workers decline COBRA.
The people who lose are the ones who assume the old plan is automatically the best option — and pay thousands extra without ever comparing. **The bottom line:** COBRA is a useful stopgap, not a bargain.
If you've lost coverage, spend an hour on the marketplace before you write that first check.
Final Thoughts
The cheapest option is usually the one nobody advertises, and the deadline to find it is shorter than you think.