COBRA quote is huge, any alternatives? - 11 months and counting

I was offered COBRA and the monthly cost is more than I expected as a pharmacy technician. This is my first time dealing with any of this. I saw that marketplace plans might cost less. Is the decision time really that tight?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 11 months ago, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.