COBRA quote is huge, any alternatives? (update)

I was offered COBRA and the monthly cost is more than I expected as a customer-service rep. It has been weighing on me all week. 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 4 months ago, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

If you have a planned treatment, COBRA can make sense for a few months. Otherwise look at the marketplace first.