Can anyone REALLY afford cobra insurance?

I totally agree with you that Cobra is a joke. The amount that one has to pay is ridiculous next to the amount the person is getting. When a person is on Cobra it is because they are either between jobs (which means they do not have a lot of money) or because they just got laid off (which means again they do not have a lot of money). The insurance companies know that many of the people that are offered Cobra will not be able to afford it but by law they have to offer it. So what they do is offer insurance which is too costly and will not be taken but then they can say that they offered it and have abided by the law. There should be some type of legislation that says that the amount paid for Cobra depends on assets person has. If they can afford it great but if all the sudden they are low income because loss of job there is no reason why a person should have to chose between eating and health insurance but many do and that is why many are without health insurance. It's all politics and it's a game and the only interest health insurances have is their bottom line and their pockets. Take care and Blessings to all.