[DoreenMichele]

A. If you are a military retiree or military dependent (spouse or child), medical coverage is free and works differently from the rest of the system. This may be ten percent or more of the population, as a hand wavy wild guess. (If that sounds high, a foreign friend used to tell me Americans are rabidly militaristic nutcases with an insanely high percentage of people here who have spent time in the military.)

B. You can also be covered under your spouse's work plan. So losing your job doesn't necessarily cut you out completely.

C. A few years ago, we changed the law to make it possible to remain covered by your parents' healthcare up to age 26, even if you are married.

D. If you are old enough, there's Medicare. If you are poor enough, there's Medicaid.

If none of those situations apply, yup, it sucks big time. The high cost of COBRA makes that option an ugly joke for a lot of unemployed people who simply can't afford it.

The US should join the rest of the developed world and provide universal coverage.

Edit: For context, my father, ex husband, father-in-law and assorted other relatives were career military. I'm not anti military. I'm just trying to say "That's totes a good faith wild guess!"