Between employer coverage and Medicare eligibility lies a 10-year stretch where most people overpay by tens of thousands — not from bad luck, but from not knowing which window they're in.
Month 1–18 after job departure
COBRA preserves your employer plan — at full premium. Most people don't realize they've been paying $0 of a $1,400/month premium until they see the bill. At 18 months, coverage ends entirely, regardless of Medicare eligibility.
The 60-day enrollment clock
Losing employer coverage triggers a 60-day Special Enrollment Period. Miss it, and you're locked out of ACA plans until January — potentially 11 months uninsured or forced onto a short-term plan with serious coverage exclusions.
When one retirement reshuffles two plans
When a higher-earning spouse retires, the lower-earning spouse often loses access to employer coverage entirely. Couples frequently discover this only when HR sends a termination notice — with weeks to find replacement coverage for both.
The Bridge Coverage Audit maps your current benefits, projected health spend, and Medicare eligibility into a single comparison view — so you can see exactly where you stand before a deadline passes.
We map every plan you currently hold — employer, spouse, COBRA, Medicare parts — alongside projected health spend based on your utilization history.
Using your age, income trajectory, and Medicare eligibility date, we calculate the cost of each path: COBRA, marketplace, spousal plan, or bridge policy.
One page. Three columns. Every option side-by-side with annual cost, coverage quality score, and the specific risk each carries if left unaddressed.
A plain-language recommendation with named actions, enrollment deadlines, and projected savings — not a pamphlet, a plan.
Anonymized from real client engagements. Names withheld; numbers are exact.
Case Study 01
Operations Manager, 58, Ohio
Received a COBRA notice after a company restructure. Assumed COBRA was the only option. Had not checked marketplace eligibility or subsidy thresholds.
Before
$28,440
COBRA path (projected 18 months)
$1,580/mo premium × 18 months, no HSA contribution
After
$4,200
After coverage audit
Silver marketplace plan with APTC subsidy + HSA-eligible structure
Case Study 02
Early Retiree Couple, 62 & 59, Colorado
Husband retired at 62; wife still two years from her own Medicare window. HR handed them a pamphlet. Neither plan had been reviewed together.
Before
$41,600
Uncoordinated dual-plan cost
$1,200 COBRA (wife) + $1,267 Medicare Advantage (husband) + supplemental gaps
After
$19,800
After coordinated coverage audit
Husband on optimized Medicare + Medigap; wife on ACA bridge plan with subsidy
Case Study 03
HR Director, 55, Texas
Planned early retirement in 10 months. High earner — assumed no subsidies. Had not modeled income in retirement year versus working year.
Before
$22,100
Projected unoptimized cost
Full-price marketplace plan based on working-year income projection
After
$9,360
After income-timing strategy
Partial-year income dip qualified for significant APTC; $780/mo premium
See your number in under 2 minutes.
Bridge is fee-only. We have no carrier relationships, no commissions, no incentive to steer you toward a plan that pays us.
We work exclusively in the 55–65 coverage window. Not general financial planning — this specific gap, nothing else.
Every recommendation comes with enrollment deadlines highlighted. Missing a window by one day can mean 11 months unprotected.