Health insurance gap after a layoff - 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 payroll clerk. It has been a long 18 weeks. 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 8 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.