Texas · Losing job coverage · Plan year 2026
COBRA or the marketplace: the after-layoff math
Keeping your old plan through COBRA means paying its entire premium yourself — the share your employer quietly covered, plus up to a 2% fee. For the average single plan that's about $792.63 a month, versus the roughly $120.00 the average worker had been paying from their paycheck. Marketplace plans price by age instead, so which route wins depends mostly on how old you are and whether a subsidy kicks in.
Sources: KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey 2025 (employer-plan averages) · CMS Exchange Public Use Files, imported 2026-07-28 (marketplace) · methodology
The two price tags, side by side
| Route | ~Monthly, one adult | How it's priced |
|---|---|---|
| COBRA — average single plan | $792.63 | Full employer-plan premium + up to 2% admin fee; same price at 25 or 60 |
| COBRA — average family plan | $2294.40 | Same rule, family tier |
| Texas marketplace — median at 30 | $591.69 | Priced by age and county, before any subsidy; job loss usually unlocks subsidy eligibility mid-year |
| … median at 40 | $666.23 | |
| … median at 50 | $931.06 | |
| … median at 60 | $1414.83 |
COBRA figures derive from the KFF 2025 employer survey national averages; your actual COBRA price is your specific plan's full premium — the exact number must be in your election notice. Marketplace medians: our CMS data; county detail in the lookup tool.
How to actually decide
- Younger and healthy → marketplace usually wins on price alone: at 30, the median Texas plan costs roughly half an average COBRA single premium — before any subsidy.
- Mid-treatment, mid-deductible, or attached to your doctors → COBRA's superpower is continuity: same network, same deductible progress, no restart. Sometimes worth paying for.
- Near 60 → the gap narrows or flips ($1414.83 median vs $792.63 COBRA), and the network question dominates. Compare your actual plans, not averages — see the pre-Medicare guide.
- Lower income year ahead? A layoff year often qualifies for marketplace subsidies COBRA never gets. That single factor decides many cases.
Deadlines that don't forgive
- COBRA election: 60 days from your election notice — and it's retroactive to the day coverage ended, which effectively lets you stay uninsured-but-protected while deciding.
- Marketplace Special Enrollment: 60 days from losing job coverage. Miss both windows and you're waiting for Open Enrollment in the fall.
- COBRA lasts up to 18 months in the typical case — it's a bridge, not a destination.