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Can I get health insurance if I lost my job or lost coverage?

Losing job based coverage opens a 60 day window to enroll on the Marketplace. Here is how that compares with COBRA, and what to check first.

Updated September 3, 2026 · 3 min read · by Gerino Alejos

Yes. Losing job based coverage is a qualifying life event, a change that lets you sign up outside the normal season. It opens a special enrollment period, a window to enroll now. You do not have to wait for open enrollment.

The 60 day window

You generally have 60 days from the date your coverage ends to enroll in a Marketplace plan, the government site where you shop for health coverage. You can also apply up to 60 days before a loss you know is coming, which is the better move when your employer gave you notice.

COBRA versus the Marketplace

COBRA is the rule that lets you keep your employer plan after the job ends, usually for up to 18 months. It is the same coverage and the same network, the list of doctors and hospitals the plan has contracts with. That is its main appeal.

The cost is the problem. You pay the whole premium, the monthly bill for the coverage, both your old share and the part your employer was paying, plus an administrative fee. For most people that is a large monthly number.

• COBRA: the same plan, the same doctors, and credit for what you already paid toward your deductible, the amount you pay yourself before the plan starts paying. Full price, no subsidy.
• Marketplace: a different plan and possibly different doctors, with a price usually lowered by a subsidy, money from the government that cuts your monthly bill.

A subsidy is figured on the income you expect for the year. A job loss lowers that estimate, so the credit is often larger than it would have been while you were working.

The COBRA trap

If you elect COBRA and later want to switch to a Marketplace plan, you generally cannot do it in the middle of the year just because COBRA costs too much. You would wait for open enrollment, the yearly season when anyone can sign up, or for COBRA to run out.

So compare the two before you elect COBRA, not after. You have an election window, and there are lookback rules, but the clean move is to run both numbers first.

Other qualifying losses

• Your hours were cut below the level the plan requires.
• You turned 26 and aged off a parent's plan.
• You lost coverage through a divorce, or when a spouse died.
• You lost Medicaid or CHIP, the state programs that cover people with low income and their children.
• A student health plan ended.

Dropping coverage on your own does not qualify. Neither does being cut off for not paying your premiums. See special enrollment periods.

What to do this week

1. Find the exact date your coverage ends. That date starts the clock.
2. Estimate your income for the rest of the year. Severance and unemployment pay both count.
3. Price Marketplace plans at HealthCare.gov using that estimate.
4. Compare that against the COBRA quote your employer sends you.
5. Check that your doctors are in network on the Marketplace plans you like.
6. Enroll before the old coverage ends if you can, so there is no gap.

If you are close to 65, this decision runs into Medicare and the rules are different. COBRA is not a bridge to Medicare, because it does not protect you from the Part B penalty. See the rules around 65.

Get both quotes in front of you before the 60 days run out, and we can read them with you. Call our McAllen office at (956) 687 3334, or enter your ZIP code in the box on this page.

Gerino Alejos

Licensed insurance agent · License 3128710 · NPN 18243381

Owner of McAllen Insurance Group, an independent agency on North 10th Street in McAllen. Works with clients across Hidalgo, Cameron and Starr counties on Medicare, Marketplace health, life and auto coverage. Se habla español.