COBRA Alternatives (Post-employment coverage)
When you leave a job, COBRA lets you keep your former employer's plan temporarily — but it's often expensive. Alternatives include individual-market plans, health shares, and short-term coverage that can bridge the gap at lower cost.
The COBRA cost problem
COBRA lets you continue your former employer’s health plan after a job change — but you pay the full premium plus an administrative fee, with no employer contribution. For many people that’s a sharp, sudden increase.
Lower-cost ways to stay covered
- Individual-market plans — a job change is a qualifying event that opens a special enrollment window.
- Health share programs — member-funded cost sharing (not insurance) that can lower monthly costs for healthy households.
- Direct Primary Care — keep an everyday primary care relationship for a flat monthly fee while you transition.
- Short-term coverage — a temporary bridge for a defined gap.
Getting it right during a transition
The best choice depends on your timing, your health needs, and what’s available in your state. We help people leaving a job — including 1099 and self-employed workers — compare COBRA against these alternatives and avoid a coverage gap.
Related terms
Health Share
A health share is a member-funded medical cost-sharing arrangement where members contribute monthly and share one another's eligible medical costs. It is not insurance and is not regulated as insurance.
Direct Primary Care
Direct Primary Care is a flat monthly membership that gives you a direct relationship with a primary care practice — longer visits, easier access, and transparent pricing — outside of the insurance billing system.
ICHRA
An ICHRA (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement) lets an employer reimburse employees, tax-free, for individual-market health premiums instead of offering a single group plan.