How Long Does COBRA Last?

The standard answer: 18 months

For most people, COBRA coverage lasts 18 months. This applies when you lose coverage because of job loss — whether voluntary or involuntary — or because your work hours were reduced below the threshold required to qualify for employer health benefits. It doesn't matter whether you resigned, were laid off, or had your hours cut; as long as the separation wasn't due to gross misconduct, you're entitled to 18 months of COBRA continuation coverage.

During those 18 months, you keep the exact same health insurance plan you had through your employer — same network, same doctors, same deductible structure. The only difference is that you now pay the full premium yourself, including the portion your employer used to cover, plus a mandatory 2% administrative fee.

When COBRA lasts 36 months

In certain situations, COBRA coverage can extend to 36 months. These longer periods apply to people who were covered as dependents on an employee's plan — not the employee themselves. There are three qualifying situations:

• Death of the covered employee. If the employee dies while still working (or while on COBRA), their spouse and dependent children can continue coverage for up to 36 months from the date of the qualifying event.
• Divorce or legal separation. If you lose coverage because you divorced or legally separated from the employee who held the plan, you can elect COBRA for up to 36 months. The same 36-month rule applies to the divorced spouse — not to the employee who keeps working.
• A dependent child aging off the parent's plan. Under the Affordable Care Act, children can stay on a parent's plan until age 26. When a child ages off, they qualify for up to 36 months of COBRA continuation coverage based on that qualifying event.

In plain English: if you're the employee who lost your job, you get 18 months. If you're a spouse or dependent who lost coverage because of the employee's death, divorce, or a child aging off the plan, you get 36 months.

When COBRA can end before 18 months

COBRA isn't guaranteed to run its full 18 months. There are several situations where your coverage can be terminated early:

• You stop paying premiums. COBRA has strict payment deadlines. If you miss a premium payment — even by one day past your grace period — your coverage can be terminated retroactively. Most plans offer a 30-day grace period, but you must confirm this with your plan administrator.
• You become covered under another group health plan. If you get a new job with employer-sponsored health insurance (or become eligible for coverage through a spouse's employer), you lose your right to continue COBRA. Note that being "eligible" for new coverage — even if you haven't yet enrolled — can trigger this rule.
• You become eligible for Medicare. Becoming Medicare-eligible (typically at age 65, or earlier due to disability) generally ends your right to COBRA continuation. The interaction between COBRA and Medicare timing is complex — consult a benefits advisor if this applies to you.
• The employer stops offering group health coverage entirely. If your former employer goes out of business or stops offering health benefits to all employees, your COBRA coverage ends. This is one of the few situations where COBRA ends through no action of your own.

What happens when COBRA runs out

When your COBRA coverage reaches the end of its maximum period — 18 or 36 months, depending on your situation — this is called COBRA exhaustion. COBRA exhaustion is a qualifying life event that triggers a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) on the ACA Marketplace. This means you have 60 days from your COBRA exhaustion date to enroll in a Marketplace plan, even outside of Open Enrollment.

This is an important distinction: COBRA exhaustion gives you a Marketplace SEP. But voluntarily dropping COBRA early does not. If you cancel COBRA before it expires — say, after 6 months instead of 18 — that voluntary cancellation does not trigger a SEP. You would only be able to enroll in a Marketplace plan during Open Enrollment (which runs from November 1 through January 15 each year) unless you have another qualifying life event.

If you're approaching the end of your COBRA coverage period, start shopping Marketplace plans at least 60 days before your COBRA expires so you have time to compare options and avoid a coverage gap.

The 60-day election window

When you lose job-based health coverage, you don't have to make an immediate decision about COBRA. Federal law gives you 60 days from the later of two dates — either the date your coverage ends or the date you receive your COBRA election notice — to decide whether to elect COBRA.

Here's the critical part: if you elect COBRA within that 60-day window, your coverage is retroactive to the date your employer coverage ended. This means there is no actual coverage gap — even if you waited 45 days to make the election. You would owe premiums for all the months going back to the date your coverage lapsed, but if you didn't use any healthcare during that period, you could wait to see whether you needed coverage before committing.

This "wait and see" approach is legal under federal COBRA rules, but it does require you to pay lump-sum premiums retroactively if you end up needing care. Always verify the specific retroactive election process with your former employer's HR department or plan administrator, as the mechanics can vary.

Should you use all 18 months?

COBRA doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing decision. Many people assume they must either elect COBRA for the full 18 months or not at all — but that's not how it works.

You can elect COBRA, use it for as long as you need it, and then switch to a Marketplace plan at any time during two windows:

• During your initial 60-day Special Enrollment Period. When you first lose job-based coverage, you have a 60-day SEP on the Marketplace. Even if you elect COBRA, this SEP runs concurrently — so you can use COBRA as a safety net while you shop ACA plans, then switch before your 60-day window closes.
• During Open Enrollment. Each year from November 1 through January 15, anyone can enroll in a Marketplace plan — whether they currently have COBRA or not.

The most common smart strategy: elect COBRA immediately (to protect yourself retroactively), use it for a few months while you thoroughly compare Marketplace options, and then cancel COBRA once you've enrolled in a Marketplace plan with a confirmed start date. Just make sure your new plan's effective date overlaps with your last day of COBRA before canceling to avoid any gap.