Health insurance gap after a layoff - 26 weeks in

My employer coverage ended at the end of the month and I am trying to work out what to do as an accounts payable clerk. Any experience at all would help. The COBRA notice arrived with a very high price. Is there help filling out the forms?

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.