Just got a COBRA letter? Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period — and because COBRA carries no employer contribution and no premium tax credit, the alternative is often much cheaper.
Not a government marketplace. Health Enrollment Center is operated by Sprinter Insurance Agency LLC.
New Hampshire uses the federal marketplace at HealthCare.gov. About 66,000 residents are enrolled, and roughly 55% qualify for a premium subsidy — a lower share than many states, which reflects the state's higher incomes, so it's worth running your exact numbers rather than assuming you won't qualify.
COBRA lets you keep your former employer's exact plan — but now you pay the whole premium plus a 2% admin fee, with no employer contribution. For most households that's $650–$1,200+ a month. The letter makes it sound like your only option. It isn't.
Losing employer coverage is a qualifying life event. It opens a 60-day Special Enrollment Period on the ACA marketplace, where your income may qualify you for a premium tax credit that COBRA can never offer. Many people who were paying $900 for COBRA move to a comparable Silver plan for $300–$450 — often keeping the same primary-care doctor in-network.
The timing move that saves people money: you have 60 days from the date your coverage ends to enroll in a marketplace plan. Unlike COBRA, marketplace coverage is not retroactive — it starts on a future date, so a gap is possible if you wait. Before you pay that first COBRA invoice, it's worth a 10-minute call to compare. If an ACA plan beats COBRA, we help you enroll; if COBRA is genuinely better for your situation, we'll tell you that too.
New Hampshire does not run its own exchange — marketplace plans here are sold through the federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov. In practice that means the enrollment windows, the eligibility rules and the appeals process are the federal ones, and the plan you buy through a licensed agent is the identical plan at the identical price you would find on HealthCare.gov yourself. New Hampshire uses the federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov, for individual ACA enrollment.
One thing to check before you pay a COBRA invoice in New Hampshire: if losing the job dropped your household income, the marketplace subsidy you now qualify for is usually far cheaper than COBRA — and if the drop was steep, the children may qualify for CHIP, which runs year-round rather than on the 60-day clock. For most above-poverty households, though, the win is simply a subsidized marketplace plan COBRA can never match on price. New Hampshire expanded Medicaid (Granite Advantage), covering adults up to 138% of the poverty line, which sets the floor below which marketplace subsidies don't apply.
The carriers writing individual business in New Hampshire include Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (Matthew Thornton Health Plan), Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, WellSense Health Plan. Networks and pricing are set county by county rather than statewide, so the same carrier can be the best value in one metro and the wrong choice an hour away. We quote Manchester, Nashua and Portsmouth & the Seacoast — and every county in between.
Don't see yours? Call a licensed agent — most answers take under two minutes.
Yes. We help New Hampshire residents compare COBRA alternatives options against the alternatives so you can see the real trade-offs before you enroll.
No. New Hampshire uses the federal marketplace at HealthCare.gov. A licensed New Hampshire agent can enroll you in those same plans at no extra cost and also show you private off-marketplace options HealthCare.gov doesn't list.
Through HealthCare.gov, the federal marketplace — New Hampshire does not run its own exchange. You can enroll in those same plans through a licensed agent at no extra cost, which also lets you see private off-marketplace plans that HealthCare.gov does not list.
The carriers writing individual business in New Hampshire include Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (Matthew Thornton Health Plan), Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, WellSense Health Plan. Which of them is actually competitive depends on your county rather than the state — the lineup and the networks in Manchester are not the lineup in Portsmouth & the Seacoast. We are independent and compare across all of them rather than steering you to one company.
Start with your ZIP. Two quick questions, then a licensed agent brings you the plans you actually qualify for — no cost, no obligation.