COBRA vs marketplace insurance after job loss?
COBRA keeps the plan, the network and the deductible you have part-paid, at about $793 a month for single cover on 2025 averages. A marketplace plan priced on your now reduced income is often cheaper. You have 60 days for each, and COBRA is retroactive — so you can shop first and elect later.
The full picture
This is the one decision after a layoff where doing nothing for a few weeks is not a mistake.
Because COBRA is retroactive to the date coverage ended, electing it is a decision you can defer. Price the marketplace first, compare against your own plan documents, and hold the COBRA election in reserve. If nothing goes wrong in the interval you have lost nothing; if something does, you can elect and the coverage reaches back.
Two things change the arithmetic in 2026. The enhanced premium tax credits that ran from 2021 through 2025 expired on 31 December 2025, and the subsidy cliff at 400 percent of the federal poverty level is back — so a quote from last year is not a guide to this year. Price your own.
And if you have met most of a deductible this plan year, say so out loud when you compare. That is the single most common reason a more expensive COBRA premium is still the cheaper answer.
The deadlines that decide this for you
Three clocks run at once, and two of them are short. The COBRA election period is 60 days (DOL), and the employee's guide to COBRA sets out how the notice, election and first-payment deadlines interact, including the fact that coverage elected inside the window reaches back to the date the old coverage ended (DOL, An Employee's Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA).
The marketplace runs its own clock: losing job-based coverage is a qualifying event that opens a special enrollment period, which is generally 60 days (HealthCare.gov). You can also apply before the coverage actually ends, which is the difference between a clean handover and an uninsured month (HealthCare.gov on losing job-based coverage).
The practical order is therefore: get a real marketplace quote using the income you now expect for the year, not last year's salary; read the COBRA election notice for its specific dates; and decide before the earlier of the two deadlines rather than the later. The one thing that cannot be recovered is a missed election. Nothing about this choice improves by being left.
Common questions
Is COBRA or a marketplace plan better after job loss?
There is no general answer, because a marketplace premium depends on the income you project for the year and COBRA does not. What can be said is the shape of the choice. COBRA keeps the exact plan, network and deductible you already have, at the full premium plus an administrative charge. A marketplace plan may cost less after any premium tax credit you qualify for, but it can change your network and restarts your deductible. Price both for your own household before choosing; a national average tells you nothing about your quote.
Can I take marketplace coverage first and still fall back on COBRA?
The election window is what makes this possible. You have 60 days to elect COBRA, and losing job-based coverage also opens a special enrollment period on the marketplace. Because the COBRA election period runs from the later of the loss of coverage or the date of your election notice, a deliberate comparison inside that window is not a gamble. Read your own election notice for the exact dates and the payment deadline, because missing the first premium deadline ends the option entirely.
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