Estimate COBRA premiums
Employer and employee shares together, for the coverage tier the person keeps.
The full premium is on the employer's rate sheet, or ask HR. Paycheck deductions only show the employee's share, which is why COBRA often costs three to five times what someone paid while employed.
How COBRA pricing and timing work
| What happened | Who can elect | Maximum coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Job ended (not for gross misconduct) or hours cut | Employee, spouse and children | 18 months |
| Same, and someone covered is disabled within 60 days | Everyone in the family | 29 months |
| Divorce, the employee's death or Medicare entitlement, or a child aging out | Spouse and children | 36 months |
- People have 60 days to elect COBRA after their notice or coverage loss, whichever is later.
- The first payment is due 45 days after electing, and covers back to the day coverage ended, so there's no gap.
- Later payments have a 30-day grace period.
- The employer can charge 102% of the plan's cost, or 150% in months 19 to 29 of a disability extension. Many charge exactly 102%.
Is COBRA worth it?
COBRA keeps the same doctors, network and deductible progress, which matters mid-treatment or late in the plan year. For most healthy people, a marketplace plan costs less, especially with a subsidy. Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and you can drop COBRA for a marketplace plan during it.
COBRA on a Prescience plan
We run COBRA administration for Prescience employers: notices, elections and premium collection, so HR doesn't track deadlines by hand.
At Prescience, we design and run your company's health plan, from setup and enrollment to claims, compliance and COBRA. What your team gets:
- An effective $0 deductible, so the plan helps from the first visit.
- Simple copays shown before a visit, capped by a low out-of-pocket maximum.
- A broad national PPO network, plus providers we contract with directly.
- 24/7 physician-led care navigation: a care team that finds the right provider, books appointments and explains costs up front.
What your company gets: one monthly cost set in your quote, usually 10–20% below comparable fully insured coverage and fixed before the plan starts, with no admin fees. You keep your payroll provider, and the plan can start mid-year.
See what your team would pay with Prescience
Answer a few questions about your team and get a quote in about 60 seconds, or talk it through with one of our benefits experts.
