Does COBRA apply if my employer has fewer than 20 staff?

Federal COBRA generally reaches employers with 20 or more employees. Smaller employers often fall under state continuation law instead, with different windows and sometimes longer coverage. Ask the administrator in writing which law governs your plan.

What date starts my continuation election window?

It is measured from the end of coverage or from the election notice, not from your last working day. Coverage can end at month end, or earlier in a pay-in-advance plan, so get the exact end date in writing before you decide between routes.

Is a marketplace plan cheaper than COBRA after a layoff?

Often yes, because the subsidy is computed from projected income while COBRA charges the full group premium plus a permitted allowance. Compare both totals for the same months inside the shared 60-day window in the COBRA calculator.

Do states have their own coverage mandates?

Some do, including individual requirements and employer rules that count part-time hours or set tighter affordability standards. Thresholds change, so confirm the current numbers with the state agency before you rely on them in a decision.

State Health Insurance Mandates 2026

The Federal Floor and State Layers

ACA mandates cover employers with 50+ full-time staff: offer affordable coverage or pay the penalty. In 2026, California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and DC add state mandates that count part-time hours and set affordability percentages tighter than federal. State penalties hit when the federal government does not.

Surcharges and Small-Business Rules

Healthcare surcharges raise the tax bill for uninsured residents and fund state pools. Small-employer thresholds drop in mandate states: companies under 50 staff face state offer requirements in California and DC. Offer letters, benefits guides, and open enrollment docs are the evidence layer — see open enrollment tactics and the ACA employer match in the ACA reconciliation guide.

COBRA State Layers After Exit

California, New York, and Connecticut extend COBRA past federal windows for small employers, and state programs fill the gap when coverage is refused. The continuation math lives in COBRA continuation, the rate math in COBRA rate math, and the marketplace switch is in COBRA and marketplace rules. 2026 plan changes follow the COBRA 2026 guide.

Exit Coverage Sequencing

Severance plans often pay premiums in months: check the coverage string against your state mandate before signing. The FSA/HSA rules after exit are covered in COBRA with FSA and HSA, and the ACA SEN payment path in the ACA SEN guide. Related: severance structure for premium strings.

Put the rule into action

Write the letter with the free Open Enrollment Announcement (Employer) generator. The state pages carry the local payout and notice windows, and the application tracker keeps the follow-up date in writing.

Put the rule into action

State Continuation Coverage — what it means and what to do

Which rule covers you, and how to check in a week

Health coverage rules stack: a federal employer requirement for larger employers, state mandates in a growing set of states, state continuation coverage for employers the federal COBRA rule does not reach, and marketplace subsidies when coverage ends. Which layer controls your situation depends on employer size, plan type, and your state.

Ask the employer in writing whether the plan is self-insured or fully insured, and which state’s rules the administrator applies to you.
Count the workforce the way the rule counts it. Some states count part-time hours; federal thresholds use full-time equivalents. Ask for the count used for your offer of coverage.
Confirm the affordability test the employer used, since state percentage standards can be tighter than the federal one.
Check the individual mandate layer where your state imposes one, because it changes what you owe at filing even if you are covered.
Ask whether state continuation applies if the employer has fewer than twenty employees.

Read the state continuation entry and the special enrollment entry, then confirm current thresholds with the state insurance department or the state workforce agency named on the state pages; mandate details change year to year.

After exit: three routes, three clocks

Leaving a job opens coverage options that run on different clocks, and the cheapest is rarely the first one HR sends:

Federal COBRA: up to 18 months at the full group premium plus a permitted allowance, with a 60-day election window measured from coverage end or from the notice. See the COBRA entry and price it in the COBRA calculator.
State continuation: for employers COBRA does not reach, sometimes longer than 18 months, sometimes with dental and vision included. The federal election window does not automatically apply, so ask which law governs your plan.
Marketplace special enrollment: 60 days from loss of coverage, with a subsidy set from projected income. This is often the cheaper route after a pay cut.

Get the coverage end date in writing before your last day with the COBRA election letter, because every one of the three clocks is measured from that date, not from your last working day.

Five questions to send HR in one email

Send this once, and keep the answer:

“Please confirm in writing: the date my group coverage ends; whether my plan is subject to federal COBRA or state continuation; the monthly continuation premium with the group rate and any allowance shown separately; the election deadline under the applicable law; and whether my state imposes an individual coverage mandate or surcharge that affects my filing this year.”

Ask for the Form 1095-C plan for the year, since the months offered and the affordability codes drive subsidy reconciliation. See the 1095-C entry.
Ask whether severance pays premiums, and for how many months, since a premium string changes both cost and eligibility questions.
Ask about short-term plans only with skepticism: they are not ACA-compliant, can exclude conditions, and are not a substitute for continuation or marketplace coverage.
Ask for the dependent rules: a child aging out or a divorce can open a separate enrollment window.

Calendar the election deadline and the special enrollment deadline in the application tracker. A missed state continuation deadline is usually final until the next enrollment period, so the written answer matters more than the summary HR emailed.

Coverage route	Who offers it	Deadline to confirm
Federal COBRA	Employers with 20 or more employees	60 days from coverage end or the notice
State continuation	Smaller or self-insured plans outside COBRA	The state’s own window; ask, do not assume
Marketplace special enrollment	The state or federal marketplace	60 days from loss of coverage

Before you rely on a date or an amount on this page, check it against the California COBRA rule page and the New York COBRA rule page, along with the workplace remote reviews guide hub. Rules move, and those pages carry the current text.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does COBRA apply if my employer has fewer than 20 staff?: Federal COBRA generally reaches employers with 20 or more employees. Smaller employers often fall under state continuation law instead, with different windows and sometimes longer coverage. Ask the administrator in writing which law governs your plan.
What date starts my continuation election window?: It is measured from the end of coverage or from the election notice, not from your last working day. Coverage can end at month end, or earlier in a pay-in-advance plan, so get the exact end date in writing before you decide between routes.
Is a marketplace plan cheaper than COBRA after a layoff?: Often yes, because the subsidy is computed from projected income while COBRA charges the full group premium plus a permitted allowance. Compare both totals for the same months inside the shared 60-day window in the COBRA calculator.
Do states have their own coverage mandates?: Some do, including individual requirements and employer rules that count part-time hours or set tighter affordability standards. Thresholds change, so confirm the current numbers with the state agency before you rely on them in a decision.