I lost my job-based health coverage. Should I take COBRA or buy a Marketplace plan?

HealthCare.gov says your former employer may offer you COBRA continuation coverage when you lose job-based cover. It can let you keep health cover for a time, until you get other cover. That may be through a new job or another source [1].

You don't have to take it. HealthCare.gov says you need not enroll in COBRA. You can compare the cost of COBRA with Marketplace plans before you decide [1].

The deadline that matters: HealthCare.gov says you can enroll in a Marketplace plan within 60 days of losing your job-based coverage [1].

Switching later. During Open Enrollment you can enroll in a Marketplace plan regardless of why you're ending COBRA coverage. Outside Open Enrollment you can switch from COBRA to a Marketplace plan if your COBRA coverage is running out [1]. Two things this answer does not give you: how long COBRA lasts, and what share of the premium the employer may charge. Don't know yet — the page quoted here does not state either, and we could not open the Labor Department page that does.

Read the «COBRA coverage when you're unemployed» page at healthcare.gov, then set your employer's COBRA election notice — it prints the full monthly premium — against the Marketplace quote for your household.