COBRA Premium Calculator

1. Enter your monthly share of the premium and the employer monthly share. COBRA pricing starts from the sum of the two.
2. Keep the admin fee at 2 percent unless your election notice shows less, and set the months you expect to stay on COBRA.
3. Turn on the disability extension only if it applies to you, then read the monthly premium and the total for the period.

What each result tells you:

A COBRA premium is the monthly amount you pay to keep your former employer group health plan after a qualifying event, such as a job loss or a cut in hours. COBRA stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, the U.S. federal law that created this right.

The price surprises most people. While you were employed, your employer paid part of the plan cost and you paid the rest from your pay. Under COBRA, you pay both parts. The U.S. Department of Labor states that the total premium includes the share you paid as an active employee and the amount your employer contributed, plus two percent.

Federal COBRA applies to private-sector group health plans of employers with at least 20 employees. The coverage itself stays the same plan with the same benefits. Only the person who pays for it changes.

A COBRA premium is not a new insurance quote. Age, health and income do not change it. It is a fixed share of what the plan already costs for people in your situation.

The calculator adds the two premium shares, applies the admin fee, and multiplies by the months you enter. Extension months use the higher rate.

1. Full plan cost = your monthly share + the employer monthly share.
2. Standard premium = full plan cost x (100 percent + admin fee). The fee is capped at 2 percent.
3. Extension premium = full plan cost x the extension rate, capped at 150 percent. It applies to months 19 to 29 only.
4. Total = standard premium x standard months + extension premium x extension months.
5. Increase = standard premium - your old monthly share.

The 102 percent and 150 percent figures are limits. A plan may charge less, and an employer may choose to pay part of the cost for a time, for example in a severance agreement.

These numbers are an illustration, not an average. An employee paid 150 a month for employee-only coverage. The employer paid 550 a month for the same plan.

Meaning: the plan did not get more expensive. The person now pays the 550 employer share and a 14 fee on top of the old 150. With a disability extension at the 150 percent cap, months 19 to 29 cost 1,050.00 each, and the 29-month total is 24,402.00.

Four things move the result. Age and health are not among them.

Total Plan Cost

The full cost of the plan sets the base. A family plan costing 2,000 a month in total gives a COBRA premium of up to 2,040.00. An employee-only plan costing 600 gives up to 612.00.

Employer Share

The larger the employer share was, the larger the jump you feel. With shares of 150 and 550, the bill is 4.76 times the old deduction. With shares of 500 and 1,500, it is 4.08 times.

Admin Fee

The fee adds at most 2 percent. On a 700 plan, 2 percent adds 14.00 a month, or 252.00 over 18 months. A plan that charges no fee costs 700.00.

Disability Extension Months

The Department of Labor says a plan can charge up to 150 percent of the total cost during the additional 11 months of a disability extension. The first 18 months stay at the standard rate.

Plan Year Changes

The plan cost can change when the plan renews. Your COBRA premium follows the new plan cost, so a long COBRA period may not keep one price. The calculator holds the price level for the whole period.

The monthly premium is only part of the cost of keeping coverage. Plan the full cash need before you elect.

Add your deductible, copays and coinsurance to these figures, because the plan rules do not change under COBRA. The guide on how insurance deductibles work explains those costs.

A zero-based budget helps you fit the premium into a month with lower income. Tax treatment of premiums is outside this tool.

Before You Leave a Job

Estimate the premium while you can still ask HR for the exact employer share. Use the number to size your savings. The guide on how much emergency fund you need shows how to plan for months without pay.

During the Election Period

The Department of Labor says you have at least 60 days to decide whether to elect COBRA. Use that time to compare the COBRA price with a Marketplace plan or a spouse plan. HealthCare.gov notes that Marketplace plans may cost less, especially when you qualify for savings based on income.

When Checking Your Election Notice

Compare the premium in your notice with this estimate. A notice that is far above 102 percent of the two shares is worth a question to the plan administrator.

When Planning a Short Gap

Set the months to the gap before new coverage starts. Three months on a 700 plan costs 2,142.00.

1. Using Only Your Payroll Deduction

Your old deduction was only your share. COBRA is priced on the full plan cost, so leaving out the employer share gives a number that is far too low.

2. Forgetting to Convert Pay Periods

A biweekly deduction of 69.23 is 150.00 a month, not 138.46. Multiply by 26 and divide by 12.

3. Applying 150 Percent to Every Month

The higher rate applies only to the 11 extension months. Months 1 to 18 stay at up to 102 percent.

4. Assuming the Price Never Changes

The premium follows the plan cost, which can change at renewal.

5. Missing a Payment Deadline

The Department of Labor says plans must give you at least 45 days after you elect to make the first payment, and a 30-day grace period for later payments. Coverage can end when a payment is late beyond that.

6. Dropping COBRA Mid-Year Without a Plan

HealthCare.gov states that choosing to stop COBRA early does not open a Special Enrollment Period. You may have to wait for Open Enrollment to buy a Marketplace plan.

The math is exact for the shares you enter, because the federal limits are simple percentages. The result is only as good as the two premium shares, and the employer share is the one people most often guess.

COBRA feels expensive because you pay the employer share as well as your own. On a plan that costs 700 a month in total, an employee who paid 150 pays up to 714 under COBRA.

No. 102 percent of the total premium is the most a plan can charge in standard months. A plan may charge less, and it can charge up to 150 percent during a disability extension.

COBRA lasts 18 months after a job loss or reduction in hours. The Department of Labor lists up to 29 months with a disability extension and up to 36 months for events such as divorce or the death of the covered employee.

A qualified beneficiary whom the Social Security Administration determines to be disabled may qualify. The rules tie the disability to the first 60 days of COBRA coverage and set notice deadlines, so read the Department of Labor guide and tell your plan administrator early.

Ask your HR or benefits team for the full monthly plan cost for your coverage tier. Your W-2 may also show the yearly value of employer-sponsored coverage in box 12 with code DD. The IRS says that amount generally includes both the employer and the employee portions.

You do not have to pay when you elect. The Department of Labor says plans must allow at least 45 days after your election for the first payment, and a 30-day grace period for each later payment.

Yes. HealthCare.gov says you can enroll in a Marketplace plan within 60 days of losing job-based coverage, and those plans may cost less if you qualify for savings. Enter the quote in the compare field to see the monthly gap.

Federal COBRA applies to private-sector group health plans of employers with at least 20 employees. Smaller employers may fall under a state continuation law with different prices and periods, which this tool does not model.

The tier changes the premium shares you enter, not the formula. A family plan has a higher total cost than an employee-only plan, and COBRA applies the same percentage to it.

People in plans outside federal COBRA should not rely on it. Examples are employers with fewer than 20 employees, where a state continuation law sets the price, and anyone whose employer pays part of the COBRA premium under a severance agreement.

No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is sent to our servers. Anything you Save stays in this browser only.

• FAQs on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage for Employers and Advisers (U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA: 102 and 150 percent limits, 20-employee rule, payment deadlines).
• An Employee's Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA (U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA: what the premium includes, coverage periods, disability extension).
• COBRA coverage when you are unemployed (HealthCare.gov: Marketplace options and Special Enrollment Periods).
• Form W-2 Reporting of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage (Internal Revenue Service: box 12 code DD includes the employer and employee portions).