What You Should Know

• Purchasing health insurance on your own can be extremely expensive
• You may be eligible for a COBRA plan while you're in between jobs, depending on your employer
• You could qualify for subsidy assistance with the Affordable Care Act

If you are thinking about quitting your job, you may be worried about what you should do when it comes to your benefits.

The truth is, you may be relinquishing a fair number of benefits if you do choose to quit your job. Among the most important benefits is employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.

Before you quit, you should think about your next steps when it comes to finding affordable health insurance that meets your individual needs and the needs of your family.

How do you find insurance after quitting your job?

Once you officially quit your job, you may qualify for help from the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which requires many employers to offer an extension of health coverage to former employees for up to 18 months.

While COBRA could be a welcomed relief to many who don't know of other health insurance options, the plan does still cost thousands of dollars a year — sometimes over $7,000 for a family plan.

If you find that COBRA is not an option for you after you've quit your job, you may want to consider the Affordable Care Act that exists as a part of public health exchanges.

To qualify for an Affordable Care Act plan, you need to sign up within 60 days of quitting your job and losing previous health insurance. At the moment, you may find that you qualify for federal premium subsidies that ultimately allow you to pay $50 a month or less for health insurance.

Keep in mind that health insurance with a low deductible or a no-deductible health insurance plan will cost more in monthly rates than plans with higher deductibles.

Purchasing health insurance on your own can be extremely expensive. You may want to consider other options like temporary health insurance or a catastrophic plan if you know your coverage before finding another job will be short-lived.

If you are thinking of quitting your job but have not done so yet, be sure to do your research to learn how much you might end up paying for health insurance coverage. This could make you reconsider quitting your job at all.

As you shop for health insurance, be sure to use our free quote tool below to compare quotes from several companies at once.