For those who have lost their jobs and have no health insurance, they may turn to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). COBRA gives employees who have lost their jobs the opportunity to continue to receive heath insurance for their families for a temporary amount of time under certain conditions.

COBRA applies to companies with 20 or more employees, but does not apply if your company goes out of business or stops offering health insurance benefits. Generally, families are responsible for 35% of the premium with the remaining 65% being the responsibility of the previous employer.

Additionally, college graduates may turn to COBRA to provide health insurance temporarily after being dropped from their parents health insurance. 

For more information please see:
http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/COBRA.html
http://kiplinger.com/columns/ask/archive/2009/q0223.htm