COBRA quote is huge, any alternatives? - what worked for you?

The COBRA quote for my family is $400 a month and I do not know how to afford it. Thank you in advance. My spouse has a chronic condition, so dropping coverage feels risky. Is the decision time really that tight?

A quick call to the plan's member line cleared up two things for us that the letter did not.

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