Health Insurance After Company Shuts Down

Apologies if this isn't the right subreddit.

A very close relative of mine owns a small business that abruptly had to close its doors this past week. The company is still in "operation" running off of a skeleton crew to help tie up affairs before permanently closing. The individual is in their late 50s and had insurance for their spouse and them through a group policy they were paying for (not sure all of the details here, but sounds like it was around $1800/month). After talking with them it was clear to me that one of their biggest anxieties from all of this is their Healthcare and the realization that in the next month or so they won't have any. They have a serious health issue that requires medication and without health insurance they aren't sure how they'll be able to afford that.

One other notable thing is that their spouse does also own a small business; however I suspect their cash flow is likely less than what they would need in order to pay for insurance – at least the amount they were paying previously.

My main questions are: – Do individuals who were self employed, but had to close down their business qualify for COBRA? – Are there other recommended paths for them to consider? They've looked briefly at the marketplace and was concerned with the cost as well. I suspect this is the alternative, but curious if given the situation some other doors may be open.

submitted by /u/OptRider
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