There's no question that COBRA health insurance is a good idea for a lot of people. Under this type of coverage, you can continue paying group rates if you lose your job due to certain "qualifying events". In other words, you'll still be entitled to full medical benefits if you're laid off, fired, or voluntarily resign -- provided that gross misconduct doesn't figure into the equation. In this way, many folks are able to keep their entire family insured no matter what's going on with their careers.
But COBRA health insurance is often very costly, and can put extreme pressure on your budget. If you're out of a job, then chances are you're already scrimping and struggling to make ends meet, so having to shell out several hundred dollars every month to keep your coverage going can be difficult to pull off. That's why cheaper alternatives to COBRA health insurance have become increasingly popular over the years.
There's actually nothing special about these COBRA health insurance alternatives. Most often, they are simply group policies offered by major insurers that you've already heard of. For instance, Blue Cross Blue Shield offers coverage for as little as $4 per day (according to some of their ads), and the AARP also provides members with easy access to cheap policies. The best way to find the right COBRA health insurance alternative for your situation is to spend some time researching the policies and packages available from other top carriers so you can compare features and cost before making a decision.
In addition to checking with other insurers, you might want to consider purchasing individual policies for each member of your family instead of going with group coverage. Sometimes this can yield additional savings, particularly where children and generally healthy adults are involved. Children's policies are pretty cheap to begin with, and if your own medical history is relatively clean, then you'll likely be able to receive some discounts as well. By shopping around, you ought to be able to find far cheaper alternatives to COBRA health insurance, so a little work could end up saving you a couple hundred dollars a month. When it's already a challenge to cover regular household expenses due to a reduced income, then this type of savings falls into the "make or break" category.
If you've recently lost your job due to reasons beyond your control, you'll be given the option to buy into COBRA health insurance. I would strongly urge you to research the pros and cons of such a move prior to making your decision, because these days there are plenty of cheaper alternatives to choose from. The alternatives provide excellent coverage for a fraction of the cost, so they're definitely worth considering.