Summary: COBRA lets you keep your employer's health plan after job loss, but you pay the whole premium plus a 2 percent admin fee: about $793 a month for single coverage or about $2,294 a month for family coverage at 2025 national averages. That is roughly 6 to 7 times what you paid as an employee. This calculator estimates your monthly COBRA premium and total cost, and shows the sticker shock as a multiple of your old paycheck deduction.
National average employee share: about $120/mo single, $571/mo family (KFF 2025).
Based on 2025 national average premiums (KFF). Your employer's actual premium decides your bill. For planning only.
As an employee you paid a fraction of the premium: 16 percent for single coverage and 26 percent for family coverage on average in 2025, or about $1,440 and $6,850 a year. Your employer paid the rest. COBRA hands you the entire bill: 100 percent of the premium plus a 2 percent administrative fee. Nothing about the plan changes; the subsidy disappears.
At the 2025 national averages, that means single coverage jumps from about $120 a month out of your paycheck to about $793 a month, and family coverage from about $571 to about $2,294. The plan is identical. The price is unrecognizable. This is why the first question after any job loss should be what the total premium is, not what you used to pay.
COBRA's real value is continuity, not price. Same doctors, same network, same deductible progress. If you are mid-treatment or mid-pregnancy, that continuity can be worth the premium. If you are healthy, the marketplace comparison in the guides below usually wins on price, sometimes dramatically.
At 2025 national averages: about $793 a month for single coverage and $2,294 a month for family coverage (102% of the total premium). Your employer's actual premium decides your exact bill.
18 months after job loss or hours reduction; up to 36 months for second qualifying events like divorce or a dependent aging out. Some states extend it further with mini-COBRA laws.
Rarely for healthy people. Marketplace plans are often hundreds less per month and may qualify for subsidies. COBRA wins when you need continuity: same doctors, same network, same deductible progress mid-treatment.
You have 60 days to elect COBRA after losing coverage, and the election is retroactive. Many people use the window as free optionality while they shop.
Premiums: KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey. COBRA rules per federal DOL guidance. Verify your employer's premium with HR. This page is for planning only.