COBRA costs more than my rent, what did you do?, line cook here

I just got my COBRA paperwork and the deadline to decide is close. Thank you in advance. I saw that marketplace plans might cost less. Is the decision time really that tight?

Check what the notice says about the election period and when coverage starts. Mine allowed a short window to choose.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 13 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.