It seems to me that the well intended Cobra Subsidy was just another federal game of picking winners and losers.   The Cobra Subsidy was available for much of the recession to those that lost their jobs.  But where you worked, the size of the company, and how benefits were purchased determined if you were eligible.  The winners:  employees of larger companies.  The Losers:  Everyone else including the self employed, those companies with under 20 employees with no Cobra available at all, employees of companies that went bankrupt, and those who bought private insurance with an employer stipend.  Finally, this unfair game has ended.