How To Continue Health Insurance When Changing Employers? 
When changing jobs , deciding how to address your health insurance needs in the gap period between employer sponsored health insurance plans is both simpler and more complicated than ever before . The size of the employer group you are leaving will impact on your planning as well . If your employer has less than 20 employees then state continuation of coverage provisions will apply , these vary from state to state but they are usually for shorter periods of time than the Federal COBRA law requires . Employers with 20 + employees are subject to the Federal COBRA guidelines where most employees can continue their coverage for up to 18-months . Your continuation of coverage options to consider now in 2014 are ; 1 -RRB- Continuation of Coverage through Your Existing Employer 's Health Plan - you will need to notify your former employer of your intention to continue your coverage under their group plan within 63-days of your last day of employment . You must make premium payments in full and remit them in a timely manner to your former employer -LRB- or their administrator -RRB- each month to keep your coverage in effect . 2 -RRB- Short Term Medical Insurance - if you are healthy and pre-existing condition issues are not a personal concern and if you are confident that you will be obtaining new employment with benefits in the next several weeks to months then Short Term Major Medical Insurance may be an alternative to consider . Just because you can continue with your former employer 's coverage does not mean you are required to or that you will find it affordable . Short Term Medical plans are often far less expensive than group health insurance plans and in some cases may even offer you more coverage than your employer 's plan . A note of caution : Short Term Medical policies do not meet the minimum coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act -LRB- ObamaCare -RRB- so a person covered by such a policy may find themselves subject to the individual mandate tax penalty for the period of the year they are insured under such plans . 3 -RRB- Obtain Individual Major Medical Insurance - maybe your prospects for being quickly hired somewhere else are not strong at this time or perhaps you are considering taking a new career path -LRB- e.g - consultant , freelancer , contractor -RRB- , having health insurance independent of your employer may be the best solution . In this event you will want to explore your health insurance plan options both inside and outside of the government health insurance marketplaces and whether you would qualify for any premium tax subsidies . 4 -RRB- Qualification for Medicaid/CHIP , etc. - depending upon your income level and/or other life circumstances you may have to explore your coverage options under various state and/or Federal health benefit plans for you and/or your dependents . 5 -RRB- Go Without Coverage - not my recommendation but it is an option and an option than no small number of people choose each year . Considering the potential financial risk of an uninsured illness or injury this is really only an option of last resort and a person faced with such a situation should pursue their government coverage options if possible . That should pretty well cover all the possible ways to address your coverage needs between jobs . 