COBRA Alternatives in Louisiana (2026)

Your options after leaving a job in Louisiana

Losing a job in Louisiana usually means losing your employer health plan at the end of the month or soon after. If your employer had 20 or more workers, you can likely keep the same plan through federal COBRA, but you pay the full cost yourself.

If your employer was too small for COBRA, Louisiana's continuation law may let you keep the group plan for up to 12 months. You need to have been on the plan for three straight months, and you must elect it in writing and pay the first premium by the end of the month after the month your coverage would have ended.

You also get a 60-day special enrollment period to buy a Marketplace plan after losing job-based coverage. A Marketplace plan with a premium tax credit often costs less than COBRA, especially if your income for the year will be lower.

If your income dropped sharply, check Louisiana Medicaid. Adults with income up to 138% of the federal poverty level can qualify, and you can apply at any time of year.

How federal COBRA works

Federal COBRA lets you keep your former employer’s group plan if the employer had 20 or more employees. Coverage usually lasts up to 18 months, and you can be charged the full premium plus a 2% administrative fee, because your employer stops paying its share.

You generally have 60 days from your election notice to choose COBRA. Coverage is retroactive, so some people wait and only elect it if they need care during that window. Talk to an agent before relying on that, because missing the deadline ends the option.

Louisiana group health continuation (La. R.S. 22:1046), plus surviving spouse continuation (La. R.S. 22:1045)

If your group coverage ends because your job ended, your spouse died or you divorced, Louisiana law lets you keep the same group plan for up to 12 months by paying up to the full group rate. You must elect it in writing and pay the first premium by the end of the month after the month coverage would have ended. Federal COBRA, which applies to larger employers, usually lasts 18 months, and a separate Louisiana rule lets a surviving spouse aged 50 or older keep group coverage until remarriage, Medicare or other group coverage.

• Who it covers: People covered under a group health plan issued in Louisiana for at least three months in a row before losing coverage, along with insured dependents. It does not apply if you can get federal COBRA, so it mainly helps people at employers too small for COBRA.
• How long: 12 months

Marketplace plans and your special enrollment period

Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, so you don’t have to wait for open enrollment. In Louisiana, HealthCare.gov is the federal government’s official marketplace for Louisiana. We’re an independent, licensed insurance agency, not part of HealthCare.gov or any government agency, and we can help you compare Marketplace plans and enroll. Louisiana uses the federal Marketplace, and the state does not add its own premium help. Pick a plan by December 15 for coverage that starts January 1; plans picked by January 15 start February 1.

Marketplace premiums are based on your expected income for the year, not last year’s. If you’re between jobs, a lower income estimate can mean a much larger premium tax credit. The extra federal premium tax credits ended on December 31, 2025, and Congress has not renewed them. In Louisiana that means smaller subsidies for many people and no subsidy at all above 400% of the federal poverty level. Paid enrollment in February 2026 was about 26% lower than a year earlier, largely because of this change.

If your income dropped

Louisiana expanded Medicaid in 2016. Adults under 65 with household income up to 138% of the federal poverty level can qualify, including adults without children. Starting in 2027, most expansion adults will need to show about 80 hours a month of work, volunteering, school or job training, or earn at least $580 a month.

What coverage costs