Losing a job takes your health coverage with it, usually at the end of that month. You have more options than people realize, and the cheapest one is frequently not ours. Here they all are.
Your other options
Everything available to you that is not a private PPO.
What works
COBRA — identical plan, deductible carries over, but you pay all of it
A spouse's employer plan — losing coverage opens a special enrollment window
ACA Marketplace — job loss is a qualifying event, and lower income may now mean a large subsidy
Medicaid — if your income has dropped far enough, this is free or near-free and you should take it
What does not
COBRA is often $1,400–$2,000+ a month for a family
A spouse's plan means a special enrollment deadline you can miss
Marketplace subsidies are based on this year's income, which just changed — it must be estimated carefully
Private PPO
Best Value
Worth comparing once the options above are ruled out.
What works
Underwritten rates — a healthy applicant often pays far less
Broad nationwide PPO networks instead of a narrow local HMO
Deductibles as low as $0, and low or $0 copays on routine visits
Apply any day of the year, not just during a six-week window
What does not
No subsidy — if you now qualify for one elsewhere, that is likely the better deal
Underwritten, so an ongoing condition may make COBRA the safer route
The Verdict
So which one should you actually pick?
Work the list in order. If your income dropped enough for Medicaid, take Medicaid. If a subsidy now covers most of a Marketplace premium, take the subsidy. If you are mid-treatment, hold COBRA. If none of those fit — and for a lot of self-employed and higher-earning households, none of them do — then compare a private PPO against that COBRA invoice.
When the other option wins
Medicaid or a subsidized Marketplace plan beats us outright if your new income qualifies you. Check that first.
Not sure which side you are on? One licensed advisor will tell you plainly, including when the alternative is the better fit.
Losing a job opens a special enrollment period for the Marketplace and a 60-day COBRA election window. Private PPO coverage can start whenever you apply.
The priority is avoiding a gap. The next step is choosing the option that actually fits your household, not the first one that arrives in the mail.
Confirm the exact date your employer coverage ends
Get your COBRA premium and your special enrollment deadline
Compare a private PPO before you sign anything
Member Stories
What the call usually sounds like.
5.0
“I was paying $690 a month for a plan with a $7,000 deductible. The advisor found a PPO my cardiologist already takes, and I stopped dreading the renewal letter.”
Self-employed contractor, 47 · Texas
5.0
“COBRA wanted $1,180 a month for the two of us. The call took twenty minutes and I understood my options for the first time in years.”
Recently laid off, 52 · Ohio
5.0
“He told me my income meant a subsidized Marketplace plan would beat anything he could sell me. I did not expect that from a phone call about insurance.”
Part-time seasonal worker, 34 · Oregon
5.0
“I was paying $690 a month for a plan with a $7,000 deductible. The advisor found a PPO my cardiologist already takes, and I stopped dreading the renewal letter.”
Self-employed contractor, 47 · Texas
5.0
“COBRA wanted $1,180 a month for the two of us. The call took twenty minutes and I understood my options for the first time in years.”
Recently laid off, 52 · Ohio
5.0
“He told me my income meant a subsidized Marketplace plan would beat anything he could sell me. I did not expect that from a phone call about insurance.”
Part-time seasonal worker, 34 · Oregon
5.0
“Three states in eighteen months on travel contracts. The thing I needed was a network that did not end at the county line, and that is what we talked about.”
Travel nurse, 31 · Arizona
5.0
“I run a four-person shop. We went through what a group plan would cost versus individual coverage, and he was straight that the group route made no sense at our size.”
Small business owner, 44 · North Carolina
5.0
“Retired at 61 and the gap to Medicare looked like the most expensive four years of my life. It is still not cheap, but it is roughly half what I had budgeted.”
Early retiree, 61 · Florida
5.0
“Nobody asked for my Social Security number or my income. Four questions, then a real person called. That alone put me at ease.”
Rideshare driver, 29 · Nevada
5.0
“My wife has a thyroid condition, so I assumed underwritten meant declined. The advisor explained what carriers actually do with that, and we went in with our eyes open.”
Owner-operator, 50 · Tennessee
5.0
“I called in March after leaving my job. I had no idea you could start coverage outside open enrollment until somebody said it plainly.”
Marketing consultant, 38 · Illinois
5.0
“Two kids, and our old plan meant $50 every time one of them had an ear infection. Low copays were the whole point for us.”
Family of four, 41 · Georgia
5.0
“He walked me through the out-of-pocket maximum line by line. That number was the one I had never understood, and it is the one that actually matters.”
Restaurant manager, 36 · Colorado
5.0
“I said I wanted to think about it. There was no second call, no email campaign, nothing. I rang them back a fortnight later myself.”
Framing contractor, 45 · Idaho
5.0
“I was paying $690 a month for a plan with a $7,000 deductible. The advisor found a PPO my cardiologist already takes, and I stopped dreading the renewal letter.”
Self-employed contractor, 47 · Texas
5.0
“COBRA wanted $1,180 a month for the two of us. The call took twenty minutes and I understood my options for the first time in years.”
Recently laid off, 52 · Ohio
5.0
“He told me my income meant a subsidized Marketplace plan would beat anything he could sell me. I did not expect that from a phone call about insurance.”
Part-time seasonal worker, 34 · Oregon
5.0
“Three states in eighteen months on travel contracts. The thing I needed was a network that did not end at the county line, and that is what we talked about.”
Travel nurse, 31 · Arizona
5.0
“I run a four-person shop. We went through what a group plan would cost versus individual coverage, and he was straight that the group route made no sense at our size.”
Small business owner, 44 · North Carolina
5.0
“Retired at 61 and the gap to Medicare looked like the most expensive four years of my life. It is still not cheap, but it is roughly half what I had budgeted.”
Early retiree, 61 · Florida
5.0
“Nobody asked for my Social Security number or my income. Four questions, then a real person called. That alone put me at ease.”
Rideshare driver, 29 · Nevada
5.0
“My wife has a thyroid condition, so I assumed underwritten meant declined. The advisor explained what carriers actually do with that, and we went in with our eyes open.”
Owner-operator, 50 · Tennessee
5.0
“I called in March after leaving my job. I had no idea you could start coverage outside open enrollment until somebody said it plainly.”
Marketing consultant, 38 · Illinois
5.0
“Two kids, and our old plan meant $50 every time one of them had an ear infection. Low copays were the whole point for us.”
Family of four, 41 · Georgia
5.0
“He walked me through the out-of-pocket maximum line by line. That number was the one I had never understood, and it is the one that actually matters.”
Restaurant manager, 36 · Colorado
5.0
“I said I wanted to think about it. There was no second call, no email campaign, nothing. I rang them back a fortnight later myself.”
Framing contractor, 45 · Idaho
How It Works
Three steps, and you are in control of all three.
01
02
03
Step one · about 30 seconds
Four quick answers. No SSN, no date of birth.
State only, never your ZIP. Your details go to one licensed advisor and nobody else.
Your free review
Household
1234+
Pre-existing conditions
YesNo
When
Now30 daysComparing
Your Move
Find out which side of this you actually fall on.
Four questions, then one licensed advisor calls you back. If the alternative on this page is the better fit for your household, they will tell you that.
