Health insurance after a layoff in Idaho
When you lose job-based coverage in Idaho, you have a 60-day window to enroll through the Marketplace, plus the option to keep your old plan through COBRA (usually at full price). Idaho runs its own marketplace, Your Health Idaho, at www.yourhealthidaho.org. If your income dropped, you may also qualify for Idaho Medicaid (from 2027, most adults also need to show work or another qualifying activity).
Just laid off? Health coverage is one of five clocks
Severance review, unemployment, COBRA, and the rest: every first-week deadline in one place. Free, no account needed.
Idaho coverage, at a glance
Marketplace
Your Health Idaho (state-run)
Enroll at
www.yourhealthidaho.org
Special enrollment
60 days from losing job coverage
Medicaid
Idaho Medicaid, expanded (to ~138% FPL)
Your Health Idaho is the only place Idahoans can get premium tax credits; its open enrollment is the earliest of any state exchange (for 2026 coverage it ran Oct 15 to Dec 15, 2025).
Subsidies in 2026 and 2027: the enhanced pandemic-era Marketplace subsidies expired December 31, 2025, and as of September 2026 Congress had not restored them. Subsidies still exist but are smaller, and the income cutoff (about 4 times the poverty line) is back, so price your real numbers at www.yourhealthidaho.org rather than assuming. If your income dropped a lot, a subsidized Marketplace plan can still beat COBRA.
Your 60-day window covers the rest of 2026. Open enrollment for 2027 coverage at Your Health Idaho: October 15 to December 15, 2026, the earliest in the country (plans can be previewed from October 1).
Idaho Medicaid in 2027: From January 1, 2027, federal law requires most adults aged 19 to 64 on expansion Medicaid to show 80 hours a month of work, community service, a work program, or half-time school, or earnings of at least 80 times the federal minimum wage ($580 a month in 2026). A state can start sooner, or later if federal officials grant it more time. New applicants show it for the month or months before they apply, so work before a layoff can count. Parents of a child 13 or younger, people who are disabled or medically frail, and some others are exempt.
Both clocks run about 60 days: COBRA gives you 60 days to elect (retroactive to when your plan ended), and the Marketplace gives you a 60-day Special Enrollment window. Don't let either run out.
This is general information, not insurance or financial advice. Confirm plans, prices, and eligibility at www.yourhealthidaho.org before you rely on them.
Idaho health coverage FAQ
Where do I buy health insurance in Idaho after a layoff?
Idaho runs its own marketplace, Your Health Idaho. Enroll at www.yourhealthidaho.org. Losing job-based coverage opens a 60-day Special Enrollment window, so you don't have to wait for open enrollment. You can also keep your old plan through COBRA, usually at full price.
Do I qualify for Medicaid in Idaho if I lost my job?
Possibly. Idaho expanded Medicaid (Idaho Medicaid), so adults can qualify based on current monthly income (generally up to 138% of the federal poverty level), and you can apply any time, not just during open enrollment. A job loss can make you newly eligible. From January 1, 2027, federal law requires most adults aged 19 to 64 on expansion Medicaid to show 80 hours a month of work, community service, a work program, or half-time school, or earnings of at least 80 times the federal minimum wage ($580 a month in 2026). A state can start sooner, or later if federal officials grant it more time. New applicants show it for the month or months before they apply, so work before a layoff can count. Parents of a child 13 or younger, people who are disabled or medically frail, and some others are exempt.
How long do I have to get a Marketplace plan in Idaho?
A 60-day Special Enrollment Period that starts when you lose job-based coverage, which covers you for the rest of this year. Subsidies are based on your household income for the whole calendar year, not last year: for 2026 coverage that includes what you earned before the layoff and any severance, so enter your expected full-year income at www.yourhealthidaho.org to see your real cost. For 2027 you choose again in open enrollment, priced on what you expect to earn in 2027. Open enrollment for 2027 coverage at Your Health Idaho: October 15 to December 15, 2026, the earliest in the country (plans can be previewed from October 1).
Keep going
COBRA vs. the Marketplace, compared
The two 60-day windows, the real costs, and the 2026 subsidy change.
File for unemployment in Idaho
The official Idaho portal, the waiting week, and what to have ready.
Was your layoff covered by WARN in Idaho?
Where Idaho posts mass-layoff notices, and the 60-day notice rule.
Health coverage in another state
Where to enroll and the Medicaid rules for every other state.
Reviewed September 2026, unchanged since September 2026. Marketplaces, subsidies, and Medicaid rules change; confirm current details at the official Idaho site (www.yourhealthidaho.org) or healthcare.gov before relying on them.