COBRA is the coverage you already know at the price your employer was hiding from you. Sometimes that is exactly right.
You have roughly 60 days to elect COBRA, and that same event opens a special enrollment period on the Marketplace. Use the time — the decision turns on three questions.
1. Are you mid-treatment?
If you are in active treatment, keep COBRA. Continuity of care with the same doctors and the same authorizations is worth more than the premium difference, and switching mid-treatment is how coverage gaps turn into real problems.
2. How much of your deductible have you already met?
COBRA carries your deductible and out-of-pocket progress forward; any new plan resets both. If you have already spent $4,000 toward a deductible this year, starting over in August is an expensive move.
3. What is your income now?
Your income just changed, and subsidies are based on this year's estimate. A lot of people who never qualified for a subsidy while employed qualify for a substantial one the month after. Run that number before electing anything.
If none of those apply
If you are healthy, early in the plan year, and earn too much for a subsidy, COBRA is usually the most expensive option on your list. That is the case where comparing an underwritten private plan is genuinely worth the phone call.
