The job ended, and the coverage is ending with it. You have more options and more time than it feels like right now, but two clocks are already running. Here is the whole picture in one page.
You have four main options: a marketplace plan through your 60-day special enrollment window, COBRA to keep your old plan for up to 18 months, Medicaid if your monthly income has dropped low enough, or a short-term plan for a brief, known gap. Which one wins depends mostly on two deadlines and one severance check.
What makes this window different from ordinary shopping:
Miss the special enrollment window and the marketplace closes until fall. This is the deadline that actually expires.
It runs alongside the first one, and because COBRA is retroactive, it quietly works as a free safety net while you decide.
Medicaid looks at monthly income; marketplace credits look at annual. A final paycheck can flip which one you qualify for.
One uninsured ER visit can exceed months of premium. The averages are not on the side of waiting it out.
In the order most people should consider them:
| Marketplace (SEP) | COBRA | Medicaid | Short-term plan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | Credit-dependent; can be very low at low income | Full premium plus 2% | Free or near-free if eligible | Low premium, thin coverage |
| How fast | 1st of month after enrollment | Retroactive to loss | Immediate upon approval | Often next-day |
| How long | As long as you renew | Up to 18 months | While eligible | 4 months max, federally |
| The catch | 60-day window, then locked out | Sticker shock | Monthly income test, state variation | Not real coverage; no SEP when it ends |
Bring your end date and severance details to one call and this table collapses to a single answer: (214) 396-9356.
Print this part:
| Clock | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Marketplace special enrollment | 60 days after coverage ends (and up to 60 days before a known end date) |
| COBRA election | 60 days from the later of coverage ending or the election notice |
| First COBRA payment | 45 more days after electing, retroactive to day one |
| Short-term plan maximum | 4 months total, including renewals |
| Medicaid | No deadline; based on current monthly income, year-round |
Sources listed at the bottom of this page. State rules vary; the federal clocks above are the floor.
Policies you own yourself never end with a job. These pay cash directly to you, employed or not, and many people first buy them during a gap for exactly that reason.
Set cash benefits for injuries, with no connection to any employer. Day-one coverage for accidents.
Explore Accident A per-day cash benefit if a hospital stay lands mid-gap, when the budget can least absorb it.
Explore Hospital Indemnity
Scheduled cash benefits across everyday care while you are between employer plans.
Explore Fixed Indemnity
A lump sum on serious diagnosis. Job searches do not pause for treatment.
Explore Critical Illness
Dental and vision rarely make the COBRA cut. Standalone plans keep both going for little.
Explore Dental & Vision
Term life stays priced on your age and health, not your employment status. Gaps are a fine time to own it outright.
Explore Term LifeSupplemental and fixed indemnity plans are not comprehensive health insurance and don't replace an ACA-compliant medical plan. We'll always tell you which is which.
Four routes: a marketplace plan through the 60-day special enrollment window that losing coverage opens, COBRA to continue your old plan, Medicaid if your monthly income has dropped enough, or a short-term plan for a brief known gap. Most people land on the marketplace; the interesting cases are the other three.
There is no federal penalty anymore, so the real limits are your deadlines and your risk. The marketplace window closes 60 days after coverage ends, and one uninsured emergency can cost more than a year of premiums. A short, deliberate gap with COBRA held in reserve is manageable; an open-ended one is a gamble.
In the 40 states plus DC that expanded Medicaid, yes, likely: eligibility runs on current monthly income, and a zero-income month qualifies regardless of what you earned earlier in the year. In non-expansion states, childless adults often cannot qualify at any income, which makes the marketplace window more important there.
Yes, and this is the most useful obscure fact on this page. You have 60 days to elect COBRA and 45 more to pay, and coverage applies back to the day yours ended. Electing and paying only if something goes wrong during that window is a legitimate strategy, effectively a free bridge while you decide.
The full premium your employer was paying plus a 2% fee, which for the average family plan runs well over $2,000 a month. That is why COBRA usually loses to a subsidized marketplace plan on price, and why its best role is the retroactive safety net rather than the plan you actually pay for.
Sixty days from the date your coverage ends. You can also enroll up to 60 days before a known end date so the new plan starts the day after the old one stops. Miss the window and you generally wait for open enrollment in the fall, uncovered.
Yes. Unemployment benefits count toward marketplace income, and severance counts in the year you receive it. For Medicaid, most states look at your current monthly income instead. The same dollars can qualify you differently across the two programs, which is worth a professional pass before you pick.
Medicaid, if your state and monthly income qualify you, is free or nearly so. Next is usually a marketplace plan with credits reflecting your reduced income. Short-term plans look cheapest on paper but cap at four months and cover the least. Cheapest depends on your state, income, and how long the gap runs.
Special enrollment rules from HealthCare.gov. COBRA election and payment windows from Department of Labor guidance. Short-term plan duration limits from CMS rules in effect since September 2024. Medicaid eligibility from current federal and state guidance, including 2027 work requirement changes. Figures current as of July 2026.
Supplemental and fixed indemnity products pay fixed cash benefits and are a supplement to health insurance, not a substitute for major medical coverage. For a deeper look at gap coverage products specifically, see our gap health insurance guide.