Federal, exists in every state
Keep the employer plan after a job ends (COBRA)
Official name: COBRA Continuation Coverage
If work ends or hours drop, COBRA can keep your plan for 18 months. You pay the full premium plus 2%, keeping the doctors, pharmacy and deductible already met.
The same plan, doctors and deductible for 18 months, at full price.
Program details
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask for the election notice, elect within 60 days, pay within 45 more, and keep proof of every payment.
Your social worker
Helps you compare continuity of treatment against the premium and the other coverage options.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The plan's COBRA administrator
- Ask HR
- “Is our plan under federal COBRA (20 or more employees) or state continuation? When will the election notice go out, what is the full monthly premium, and what is the last day to elect?”
How to apply
First step: Ask human resources for the COBRA election notice in writing the day the job ends, and write the 60-day date on the calendar.
- Ask HR for the election notice in writing the day the job ends.
- Write the 60-day date on the calendar.
- Compare with the Marketplace period and Medicaid before paying.
Where it starts: Election notice from the employer. DOL EBSA 1-866-444-3272 for help
What to gather
- The election notice with the premium and the coverage-end date
- Employer size
- Whether the plan is fully insured or self-funded
How long: The notice usually arrives within a few weeks of the job ending. Coverage is retroactive to the loss date once you elect and pay.
Clock: Elect COBRA within 60 days of the later of losing coverage or getting the election notice.
Clock: Make the first payment within 45 days of electing, covering every month back to the loss.
What a yes looks like
Confirmation of continued coverage with the paid-through date. The hospital sees no gap.
What a no looks like, and the next move
“Employer too small” or “late election”: ask the insurer about state continuation and use the 60-day Marketplace period.
Watch out
- Federal COBRA applies to employers with 20 or more people. Smaller employers use state continuation rules, which often offer a shorter coverage period.
- You have 60 days to elect and 45 more days to make the first payment. You can wait and elect retroactively, but then every back premium is due at once.
- Dropping COBRA voluntarily or missing a payment does not open a new Marketplace period.
- Federal employees have Temporary Continuation of Coverage rather than ordinary private-employer COBRA: event-specific duration and election rules apply. Ask the employing office for the TCC notice and premium.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 10, 2026.
What it is worth
The same plan, network and deductible progress for 18 months (29 with a disability extension, 36 for some family events), at up to 102% of the full premium.
- $102/month (150% only in disability-extension months 19–29) — Maximum premium charge
- $45 — Days to make the first payment after electing
Legal protection: Continuation of the same group plan after a qualifying event · 60-day election from the later of the coverage loss or the election notice · 30-day grace period for each later payment
What it costs the family: The employer subsidy usually ends. The family pays up to 102% of the full premium.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Employer size min
- 20
- Qualifying event
- job loss or reduction of hours (not gross misconduct)
- Election days
- 60
- First payment days
- 45
- Grace days
- 30
- Durations months
- 18; 29; 36
- Premium max percent
- 102
- Disability extension premium percent
- 150
Decisions this site cannot make: COBRA applicability (employer size, plan, event)
Expect friction on: Short period · High premium
The trap: Federal COBRA applies to employers with 20 or more people. You have 60 days to elect and 45 more to pay. A retroactive election is lawful but every back premium is due at once.
What changes by state: Small-employer continuation (“mini-COBRA”) length and premium. Ask the social worker for the contact.
Where I read this
- COBRA Continuation Coverage — U.S. Department of Labor, read August 27, 2026
- COBRA continuation coverage fact sheet — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, read September 7, 2026
- An Employee’s Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA — U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA, read September 7, 2026
- FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Workers — U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA, read September 7, 2026
- Special Enrollment Period — HealthCare.gov, read August 27, 2026