Health insurance gap after a layoff - 10 months and counting

My employer coverage ended at the end of the month and I am trying to work out what to do as an administrative assistant. I have been trying to stay organised about it. I do not want a gap in coverage. How fast did coverage start?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 10 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.