How Much Does COBRA Cost? A 2026 Breakdown
August 11, 2026 · 6 min read
COBRA lets you keep your old employer plan — at 102% of its full cost. Here's why the price shocks people, and what your alternatives look like.
When you leave a job, COBRA offers to let you keep your exact employer health plan. What the offer letter doesn't emphasize: you now pay the entire premium — the part you used to pay and the part your employer quietly covered — plus a 2% administrative fee.
Why COBRA costs what it costs
Most employers pay a large share of each employee's premium — often the majority of it. While employed, you only ever saw your slice of the bill. COBRA hands you the whole thing: 102% of the true group rate. Family coverage is where the shock usually lands, since employers typically subsidize dependents less generously to begin with.
What you get for the money
To be fair, COBRA has real strengths: your plan, network, deductible progress, and doctors all stay exactly the same, and coverage is guaranteed regardless of health history. For someone mid-treatment or deep into a deductible year, that continuity can be worth the price.
The alternatives
COBRA is a default, not a requirement. Losing employer coverage opens a special enrollment window for Covered California, and private PPO plans enroll year-round with no window at all. For many healthy applicants, a private PPO costs meaningfully less than COBRA while keeping a broad choice of doctors.
- COBRA: identical plan, full group price + 2%, limited duration (usually 18 months)
- Covered California: income-based subsidies possible, but a 60-day window and annual enrollment after that
- Private PPO: year-round enrollment, premium you choose, coverage you own
Before you elect COBRA
You typically have 60 days to decide — use a little of that time to compare. A licensed California advisor can lay COBRA and private options side by side for free, and from there help with whatever you need. No pressure either way; sometimes COBRA genuinely is the right call.
Rather just talk to a person?
Answer three quick questions and a licensed California advisor reaches out to help with whatever you need — free, private, zero pressure.