COBRA
Definition current for the 2026 plan year · Last reviewed July 2026
In one sentence: The right to keep your employer health plan for up to 18 months after leaving a job — at full cost plus 2%.
COBRA (a 1985 law's acronym that stuck) lets you keep your exact employer plan for up to 18 months after leaving a job — same network, same deductible progress — if you pay the entire premium: your old share plus your employer's, plus a 2% fee. Since employers typically covered 70–80%, the sticker shock is real: commonly $650–$750/month for singles, $1,800–$2,200 for families in 2026.
You have 60 days to elect, another 45 to pay, and coverage backdates to day one — which enables a legitimate free look: hold the unpaid election as emergency backstop while you decide, then either pay retroactively (if something happened) or enroll in a marketplace plan within your SEP window.
The trap: dropping COBRA mid-stream doesn't unlock a marketplace SEP. Elect it and quit in month 5, and you may be uninsured until January. The full decision framework — including when COBRA genuinely wins — is in COBRA vs Marketplace, and the comparison calculator runs your actual numbers.