How To Continue Health Insurance When Changing Employers? 
When you are changing employers , you will be forced off of your group health insurance through your old employer . You will then have several options : 1 -RRB- Go on COBRA - you will be required to pay 102 % of the health insurance premium . Your employer usually paid for a portion of the premium so you will now be paying your portion , your employer 's portion , plus the 2 % overage . Please note , you can only stay on COBRA up to 18 months . 2 -RRB- You will have a qualifying event for a special enrollment period to buy a new individual health insurance policy . Under this scenario , the ACA grants you 2 months from your group coverage termination date to buy an individual plan . 3 -RRB- Join your new employer 's group health insurance plan . Please note , as many employers require a term period of employment before you can go on their group plan , you may want to consider going on COBRA or buying an individual plan -LRB- traditional coverage or a short term health plan -RRB- as an interim measure . I hope the information is helpful - please feel free to contact me for help , including quotes and plan comparisons , and if you have any other questions . Thanks very much . 