Are you going to immediately begin looking for new employment after losing your job or quitting your job?  If so, signing up for COBRA insurance immediately may not be the best option for you.  Under the current COBRA legislation you have 60 days or 2 months to determine if you would like to elect COBRA insurance coverage.  Then, if you decide to continue your medical insurance under COBRA, your health insurance will be retroactive back to the day you lost your job.  So what does this mean for you?  This means two critical things that could dramatically reduce your costs within those first 60 days.

First, this means that if you do find employment before the end of the 60 day term and will have health insurance start before a lapse in coverage begins, you can avoid paying for two months under COBRA which could cost you up to $1000/month.  If you do not, no harm is done and you can sign up at the end of the 60 day election window for COBRA and continue your insurance.

Secondly, this means that if you are planning to wait until the end of the window to elect COBRA medical insurance coverage in hopes that you will find a job, and end up needing medical care before the new insurance counts, as long as you elect COBRA and pay the COBRA premiums before the election window ends, you will be covered for those medical expenses.  COBRA insurance is retroactive in that way so anything that happens within the 60 days regardless of whether or not you have yet to elect COBRA will be covered as long as you complete the election form and pay the premiums for the two months.

Therefore, if you are fairly certain that you will find employment or need extra time to determine your next medical insurance option, you do not need to worry about any medical costs that arise in the 60 d ay window because you can always decide to elect coverage.  As long as you have enough money to pay the retroactive premiums (2 months) your expenses will be covered by the insurer.