Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment window. That window is the most important thing on this page, so it's going first.
You have 60 days from the date your coverage ends to enroll in a Marketplace plan through a special enrollment period. Miss it and, absent another qualifying event, you're waiting for Open Enrollment.
Two things worth knowing immediately. Coverage can often be backdated to the day after your old plan ended if you enroll promptly, so there's real value in moving early. And under the law passed in July 2025, special enrollment that isn't tied to a qualifying life event no longer comes with premium tax credits — which means your qualifying event is genuinely valuable and expires.
You keep the exact plan you had — same network, same deductible, same doctors, and any deductible you've already met usually carries over. That last point matters a lot if you're mid-treatment or halfway through your deductible.
What changes is the price. Your employer was paying most of the premium; now you pay all of it plus an administrative fee. People are routinely shocked by the number. COBRA is the right answer more often than its reputation suggests, but almost never on price alone.
Your income while unemployed is frequently much lower than it was, and subsidies are based on projected annual income. That combination can make a Marketplace plan dramatically cheaper than COBRA — sometimes by an order of magnitude. If your income for the year will land under 400% of the federal poverty level, this is usually where to look first.
The tradeoff is a different network and a reset deductible. Which is why the network check isn't optional.
A bridge, not a solution. Cheaper premiums, faster approval, and meaningfully thinner protection — pre-existing conditions are often excluded, and duration limits vary by state rather than following one national rule. It has a legitimate place when you need something for a few weeks and nothing else fits. It's a poor choice if you have ongoing health needs.
Availability also varies enormously by state. Michigan caps short-term coverage at 185 days with no renewal; Colorado has no short-term market at all; Florida, Texas, and Georgia allow total durations up to 36 months. Anyone quoting you one national rule hasn't checked yours.
Everything above assumes your income drops while you're out of work. Often it does. But not always — and if it doesn't, the answer flips completely.
Severance counts as income. So does a strong first half of the year, a spouse's salary, a bonus that already landed, or equity that vested on the way out. Marketplace subsidies are calculated on annual projected income, not on what you're earning this month. Someone who left a $180,000 job in September has a very different situation from someone laid off in February.
If your total year lands above 400% of the federal poverty level — $62,600 for one person, $128,600 for a household of four — your premium tax credit is zero. At that point COBRA and an unsubsidized Marketplace plan are both being paid at full retail, and the Marketplace has lost the structural advantage that makes it the default recommendation.
That's when it's worth looking at what else exists. For a healthy household above the cliff, a non-Marketplace PPO frequently costs meaningfully less per month than either COBRA or an unsubsidized Marketplace plan, with a broader network than the narrow HMOs that dominate on-exchange menus.
A word on what these plans are, because vague descriptions are how people get surprised. They're medically underwritten — the application asks about your health history, and coverage can be declined, limited, or priced based on it. They're also not ACA-compliant, which means pre-existing conditions may be excluded and the essential health benefits guaranteed on every Marketplace plan aren't automatic here.
What you get for that is a lower premium, a real maximum out-of-pocket, and frequently a wider network. Whether that trade favors you depends almost entirely on your health, which is why it's the first thing I ask about — before I quote anything. Term length and renewal rules vary by plan and by state, and I'll tell you exactly what applies to yours.
If you have an ongoing condition, an ACA plan's guaranteed coverage is often worth more than the premium difference, and I'll say so. That's a real conversation, not a formality.
Nothing. Not a fee, not a markup, not a "consultation charge." Brokers are paid a commission by the insurance carrier, and that commission is built into the premium whether you use a broker or not. Enroll directly and the carrier keeps it. Enroll through me and it pays for someone who works on your behalf and picks up the phone in March when something goes wrong.
The plan costs the same either way. I'd rather you know exactly how I'm paid than wonder. There's a fuller explanation on the licensing page, along with my NPN so you can verify I am who I say I am.
Losing job-based coverage triggers a 60-day special enrollment period for ACA Marketplace plans, counted from the date coverage ends. Coverage can often be backdated to the day after your prior plan ended if you enroll promptly.
Usually not, especially while your income is reduced. COBRA costs the full premium your employer was largely paying, plus an administrative fee, with no subsidy. Marketplace premium tax credits are based on projected annual income, which is often much lower during unemployment. COBRA's advantage is keeping your exact network and any deductible already met.
Ending COBRA voluntarily is not a qualifying life event, but exhausting your COBRA period is. You can also switch during Open Enrollment. This is worth understanding before you elect COBRA, because it affects how long you may be locked in.
Licensed in 29 states as Rohr Health Advisors LLC — Cavin Rohr, NPN 21388659. You can verify that before you call me, and I'd encourage it.
No fee, no pressure, no obligation to enroll in anything.
Book Your Free Call