Guides / Life changes
You just lost your health plan
Job gone, plan gone. There is a 60-day window and a default option that is usually the wrong one.
Deal with the window first and the philosophy later. The clock is the part you cannot get back.
The clock
Losing a plan involuntarily is a qualifying life event and opens a special enrolment period, normally 60 days from the date you lose it. That is your window to take up a marketplace plan outside the annual open enrolment.
Diarise the date today. People lose this window while waiting to hear about a job.
What the clock actually looks like
- Last day of cover Get the exact date from HR in writing. Plans often run to month end, not your last day worked.
- Day 1 Special enrolment period opens. So does the COBRA election window.
- 60 days Special enrolment normally closes. COBRA election is normally 60 days too.
- Any day Medicaid is open year round. Check it before you buy anything.
Montana Medicaid and apply.mt.gov, cited below.
COBRA is the default and usually the expensive one
If your employer had 20 or more employees, you can generally continue the same plan under COBRA for up to 18 months. The catch is the price: you pay the entire cost, the employer's share included, plus an administrative percentage. A plan that cost you $180 a month can land near $700.
It is occasionally the right answer: mid-treatment, met your deductible for the year, want to keep a specific specialist. Usually it is the option people take because it requires no decision.
You typically have 60 days to elect it, and electing it is retroactive to the day you lost the plan. That is worth knowing: you can wait, sort out something cheaper, and elect COBRA later only if something happens in the gap.
Check Medicaid, because your income just changed
Eligibility is based on current income, not last year's. If you have just stopped earning, you may qualify now even if you never have before. Montana covers adults up to 138% of the federal poverty level, and since HB 245 in March 2025 the programme no longer has an expiry date.
You can apply any time of year at apply.mt.gov. There is no window to miss.
Marketplace subsidies follow income too
Subsidies are calculated on expected income for the year, so a year that just got worse can mean a much lower price than the last time you looked. Do not price it from memory.
If you need care during the gap
Tell any provider you are self-pay and ask for the self-pay rate before you are treated, which is frequently far below the billed price. Ask for a Good Faith Estimate for anything scheduled.
If a bill has already landed, read hospital charity care before you agree to a payment plan. Your income this month is what the application looks at, and it may have just dropped into the range that qualifies.
Sources
- healthinsurance.org, Medicaid in Montana
- Montana Free Press, Governor signs bill lifting the Medicaid expansion sunset (HB 245)
- Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, apply.mt.gov
Checked 21 August 2026. Rules and thresholds change, so follow the source before relying on a figure here.
Who publishes this. CoreMed Healthcare is a Montana healthcare membership company. We publish these guides because we think the information should be easy to find, and because our own members need it. They are written to answer your question rather than to sell you a membership: where the right answer is a hospital charity care programme or a different kind of plan, that is what they say. Nothing here is legal, tax or medical advice.
Common questions
How long do I have?
Normally 60 days from losing the plan for a marketplace special enrolment period. Medicaid has no window and can be applied for any time.
Is COBRA worth it?
Sometimes, if you are mid-treatment or have already met a deductible. You pay the full cost including the employer's old share, so it is usually the most expensive option on the table.
Can I elect COBRA later if something happens?
Election is generally retroactive to when you lost the plan, and you usually have 60 days to decide. Confirm the dates with your administrator rather than relying on this.
I quit rather than being laid off. Does that count?
Losing employer-based care generally opens a special enrolment period regardless of who ended the job. Confirm when you apply.
Related
Hospital charity care in Montana
Most Montana hospitals are legally required to have a programme that can reduce your bill to nothing. Hardly anyone knows to ask.
Getting a price before you are treated
If you are paying cash, you have a legal right to a written price before scheduled care. Most people never ask for it.
Turning 26
You age off your parent's plan at 26. The window to act is short and the default is expensive.