Then the health insurance bill shows up, and the real math begins.
That bill is usually COBRA, the federal law that lets you keep your former employer's health plan for up to 18 months.
For many households, it behaves more like a trap door.
Here's the catch: your employer used to cover most of the premium.
Once you're on COBRA, you pay nearly all of it yourself, plus a small administrative fee, typically up to 2%.
A plan that cost you $180 a month through payroll can jump to $650, $800, or more.
For family coverage, it's common to see quotes north of $1,800 a month.
KFF's annual employer survey has tracked this for years, and the pattern holds: the total premium for family coverage at a mid-size employer runs well past $20,000 a year.
Your share on COBRA is most of that number.
Why this matters right now: layoffs in tech, media, retail, and logistics have kept the job market churny, and hiring timelines have stretched.
A two-month job hunt can easily become five.
That's five months of a mortgage-sized premium.
The 60-day clock is the part that trips people up.
You generally have 60 days from the date you lose coverage, or from the date you get the COBRA notice, whichever is later, to elect it.
Some people assume they can just sign up whenever they get sick.
You can't, unless you're still inside the window.
The quiet trick most people miss: you don't have to elect on day one.
If you're healthy and between jobs, you can wait up to 59 days and elect retroactively if something goes wrong.
Coverage is backdated to the day you lost your old plan.
That gap option has rescued plenty of families who gambled and got unlucky.
But waiting is a real risk, not a free pass.
A single emergency room visit can run five figures before insurance kicks in.
And you can't retroactively use COBRA for a provider who already billed you as uninsured without a fight.
Cheaper alternatives exist, and they're worth pricing before you write that first COBRA check.
A marketplace plan under the Affordable Care Act often comes with subsidies that shrink premiums dramatically, especially if your income drops after a layoff.
Losing job-based coverage also opens a special enrollment window, usually 60 days, so you don't have to wait for open season.
If you're married and your spouse has coverage, that's often the cheapest route.
If you're under 26, a parent's plan may still be an option.
Short-term plans cost less but can exclude pre-existing conditions, so read the fine print before you lean on one.
One more deadline worth circling: if you have an HSA-eligible high-deductible plan at work, the COBRA premium doesn't count the same way, and you can't contribute to an HSA once you're no longer covered by that plan.
My take: COBRA is a bridge, not a destination.
Treat it as your emergency backup, price the marketplace the same week you get the notice, and put the 60-day date somewhere you'll actually see it.
Final Thoughts
The households that get hurt most are the ones that assume they have unlimited time to decide.