[Edit: I moved this topic to the post FIRE forum thinking perhaps some folks here have gone through this. It didn't really seem like anyone on the general forum had any opinions as to whether this was possible or not.]
Despite the recent news of the reversal of the Trump administration's opinion of the ACA and subsequent striking down of the law (and subsequently landing in federal appeals court), I have a question that maybe one of you smart people already know the answer to. Before I continue, I will say that I am currently on a leave of absence from my job and will likely leave it in the next 30 days, and need to make a decision re: COBRA vs the ACA. This question may be a moot point if the law is immediately struck down and the ACA crumbles. This is an important consideration, but I can't see the future, so... I believe that I am eligible for COBRA via my current employer for 18 months, however, it is quite expensive. I also am covered by a vision and dental plan (and yes, vision is important for me, I am blind as a bat without significant prescriptions).
The COBRA forms sent to me indicate I can elect Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage via COBRA individually (meaning I can keep some but not all if I chose). What is unclear is if, say I elect to only keep Dental and Vision, if I can then get Medical coverage via the ACA using the Special Enrollment rule (leaving a job). It seems like the answer is yes, since Vision and Dental are completely silo-ed away from Medical, but I am not sure, since COBRA is an option. Does anyone have experience/knowledge with this? It is unclear to me.
I'm also wondering if a person elected COBRA Medical for the moment, could that person switch to ACA coverage during the next open enrollment? Would the fact that they still were eligible for COBRA for some more months throw a wrench in that plan?
The reason this is a difficult decision is that a silver ACA plan with subsidies based on an estimated income for 2019 is something like $400 cheaper per month than COBRA coverage for Medical. The COBRA Dental and Vision are quite reasonable. In addition, I still need to have some expensive dental work done this year that cannot wait a 12 month waiting period that ACA Dental plans have. It makes sense to extend the Dental and Vision via COBRA if it is still possible to get Medical via ACA Marketplace.
Of course if the ACA immediately goes away it would be a stupid decision to not sign up for COBRA. If it takes a year or more, it makes sense to use ACA while I can. I am not sure if/when I will go back to a job that includes health insurance coverage, so that may change things as well, but again, I can't predict the future, and everything is in flux right now.
Also - I did see the "What comes after the ACA" thread, but it's over 100 pages long. If there are relevant posts I would be interested to be pointed to them, reading the entire thing would take an enormous amount of time.
Any thoughts?