COBRA lets you keep the exact plan you had at work, including the deductible you have already met. What changes is the price: your employer stops paying its share, and you pick up the whole premium plus up to 2% administration. For most people that is the first time they see what their coverage actually cost.
What each one costs
| COBRA | Marketplace plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Premium | Up to 102% of the full group premium | Sliding scale after the premium tax credit, which is based on your new income |
| How long | Usually 18 months, longer in some situations | As long as you keep paying |
| Your network | Unchanged | The new plan's network — check your doctors |
| Deductible | Carries over; what you already paid still counts | Resets at zero on the new plan |
The subsidy is the crux. Premium tax credits are calculated on the income you expect this year, and after a job loss that number is usually much lower than last year's. A plan that looked unaffordable while you were employed often is not.
When COBRA is still the right call
- You have already met a large deductible this year and expect more care.
- You are mid-treatment with a specialist you cannot interrupt.
- Your new job starts soon and you need a short bridge.
- Household income for the year will still be high enough that no subsidy applies.
The timing trap
Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period on the marketplace, counted from the day coverage ends. You have a separate 60 days to elect COBRA. Those two clocks run at the same time, which means you can price both before deciding — but once the marketplace window closes, dropping COBRA voluntarily does not reopen it. You would be waiting for Open Enrollment. Running out of COBRA at the end of its term is a qualifying event; quitting it early is not.
Do this in the first week
Get the COBRA election notice and read the exact monthly figure. Estimate your household income for the full calendar year, including what you earned before the job ended. Then price a marketplace plan against that income, with your own doctors and prescriptions checked.
Enter your ZIP code below and a licensed agent will price the marketplace side against your COBRA notice, or call (713) 575-9904.