Health coverage after losing my job: marketplace or Medicaid? - what worked for you?

My employer coverage ended at the end of the month and I am trying to work out what to do as a forklift operator. There are 13 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. The COBRA notice arrived with a very high price. How fast did coverage start?

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.