about Cobra
talk to more than 1 HR person if you can, and ask for something in writing. When my company closed its offices and those of us who chose not to transfer talked to HR people (and some of that was outsourced in my co), we got conflicting and different info.
I was lucky in that I got to choose my Cobra coverage because my co. was changing all of their healthcare policies for the next year, and we were going out at the end of the year. I chose the least expensive, high deductible policy.
In Cobra, you pay 100% of the cost of the coverage, plus an administrative fee (3% I think). No more employer subsidy. If you have dental/vision, you still have it under Cobra (and you pay for it accordingly). Many companies nowadays have several choices/levels of coverage and most have annual enrollment periods coming up. If you think you'll be on Cobra sometime next year, now is the time to choose carefully if your annual enrollment period is approaching. 18 mos of coverage when terminating employment or 3 years if divorcing and you are going to end up on your spouse's healthcare thru Cobra. But have a plan.
You might be better off if you qualify for a not-too expensive private policy rather than go on Cobra. My fear was that I would develop something while on Cobra that would keep me from getting a reasonably priced policy in 18 mos, but I was also among the group that qualified for the 15 month federal subsidy which swayed me to go on the Cobra policy. It was a risk I decided to take and it worked out for me, but it mightn't have.
Retiree coverage from many companies nowadays is often more expensive than a private policy, but admittedly usually better coverage or at least with a lower annual deductible or policy caps. If you have a ways to go before Medicare please start researching this stuff. Talk to a good agent, ask for copies of any policies you're considering, make notes and ask questions. There is no stupid question - you will really educate yourself. Confirm what you think you understand it to be and if the agent doesn't seem knowledgeable, switch agents.
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