COBRA vs Marketplace
Content context: plan year 2026
In short
The core difference: COBRA keeps your exact job-based plan and doctors with no gap, but you pay the full premium; a marketplace plan changes your coverage but can be far cheaper thanks to income-based subsidies, especially after a job loss lowers your income. COBRA's appeal is continuity; the marketplace's is price. Because a job loss opens a special enrollment period and often qualifies you for a larger subsidy, the marketplace wins on cost for many people, but not all.
This is an explanation, not an eligibility decision. A plan-year label is not a source-check date. Source for this entry: Read the cited reference.
Side by side
What you keep
- COBRA
- Your exact plan, doctors, and deductible progress
- Marketplace
- A new plan you choose
Cost
- COBRA
- Full premium plus up to 2 percent fee
- Marketplace
- Premium minus any tax credit
Subsidies
- COBRA
- None
- Marketplace
- Premium tax credit if you qualify
Coverage gap
- COBRA
- None, continuous
- Marketplace
- Possible until the new plan starts
Deductible already met
- COBRA
- Carries over on the same plan
- Marketplace
- Resets on a new plan
When COBRA wins
COBRA wins when continuity is worth the cost: you're mid-treatment, you've already met your deductible this year, or your doctors aren't in any marketplace plan's network. Keeping the identical plan with no gap can be worth paying full price for, especially late in a plan year when restarting a deductible elsewhere would cost more than the COBRA premium.
When Marketplace wins
The marketplace usually wins on price, because a job loss both opens a special enrollment period and often drops your income enough to qualify for a real premium tax credit, frequently making a marketplace plan far cheaper than COBRA's full premium. It's the stronger choice when you're early in the plan year and not locked to specific providers or ongoing treatment.
The bottom line
Price both before electing, because the gap can be large. The marketplace, with a subsidy, often beats COBRA full premium, but COBRA can win mid-treatment, after you have met your deductible, or when only it keeps your doctors in network. Do not elect COBRA before comparing the two.
Source: Read the source