Health insurance while changing jobs?

It is not OK to be health-insurance-less for 3 months in the US unless you are 100% accident-proof. Given that something like 15% of the population has no health insurance, I think that this is out of line. I haven't had insurance in almost two years, and when I looked at COBRA, it was something like $1200 a month for two people. That's more than half of my monthly household income. Insurance is great, but for some people, it's a financial impossibility. I'm not saying that it's fantastic, but a three-month waiting period is pretty typical when you start a new job, and people suck it up and hope for the best. If you can afford COBRA, or if you're able to purchase an inexpensive short-term policy from the exchange, then by all means, do that, but not having insurance for three months isn't the end of the world. Anyhow, being insurance-less for a short period of time is ok under the ACA. If you go http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Pages/Fact-Sheet-on-Proposed-Affordable-Care-Act-Regulations.aspx, scroll down for Specific Rules and Process for Receiving an Exemption. Fifth on the list is "Individuals who experience short coverage gaps." I can't imagine that "waiting for my employer-funded coverage to take effect" wouldn't fall under that heading, especially because you'll really only be spending three weeks of the must-have-insurance timeframe uninsured. If you can pick up interim coverage, great, but otherwise, don't sweat it.

I apologize in advance for not answering the penalty question, as I don't know the answer... but I'm with brainmouse. You don't want to be in the 15%. The 15% is the whole reason why we now have universal coverage! A 26 year old Seattlite could go onto the health exchange and pick up catastrophic insurance for around $150/month (I just checked). If you got very badly hurt or sick, you might need to shell out $6350 for your care -- a tidy sum, but nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars you could owe without insurance. FWIW when I was between jobs six years ago I got insurance easily through http://www.ehealthinsurance.com/.

As for the penalty, please note that it is http://www.irs.gov/uac/Questions-and-Answers-on-the-Individual-Shared-Responsibility-Provision (although I am not yet aware of a posted schedule): The amount of any payment owed takes into account the number of months in a given year an individual is without minimal essential coverage or an exemption. That could mean a penalty per month (of no coverage) amounting to around $8. (I am also beginning to suspect that the White House may be forced to delay the 2014 mandate penalties unless the problems with the exchange online signups are fixed very quickly. But you can't bank on that.) I'd look into the gap coverage option.

The linked appendicitis rate is 1 in 15 life time not 1 in 15 annually.

Surprised nobody has mentioned that many insurance companies won't even insure you if you have a gap in coverage. When your last job ended you should have received a Proof of Coverage letter from your former insurer, to provide upon request to any subsequent insurer. Insurance companies do not like gaps in coverage. You can find gap insurance through Assurant. It's cheap and you pretty much get what you pay for. But yeah, if you step off a curb and break your ankle, get a cancer diagnosis or are whacked in the head by a toilet seat that falls from the space station, you'll be glad you have it. It's never a good idea to be without health insurance. Elks Club spaghetti fundraisers only net you so much. ACA kicks in January 1st. Even if you sign up today, it will not help you until then.

Regarding ACA, yeah, you have 2 months, and honestly the tax is negligible. As far as I know in http://www.npr.org/2013/10/11/230851737/faq-understanding-the-health-insurance-mandate-and-penalties-for-going-uninsured. Did you get a Proof of Coverage letter from your previous employer/insurer? They're required to. If you're in CA, take a look at the de2320 too - http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de2320.pdf But honestly, your best option is likely COBRA - essentially you pay what your employer paid for your insurance. You get the group rate, but have to pay the full premium. Check your state laws, too, as CAL-COBRA has slightly different laws. Obviously I live in CA, so those are the laws I know best. If COBRA's not an option, then, yeah, you probably want to grab a high deductible catastrophic insurance in the meantime. Not your tax/lawyer/this is not advice etc.

ACA doesn't start until January for either the purposes of the penalty or receiving coverage, so I think that's a moot point in your situation. As for COBRA, you have 60 days after you leave your job to elect to take it, so I would suggest waiting that period to see if you need it. Coverage is retroactive to the date you left your job. That does still leave you with 30 days of no coverage, but better than 90 days. Talk to your HR before you leave to verify that that information regarding the 60 day opt in period is correct. It was something HR has told me in the past.

In NY we have HealthyNY, which is health coverage for those who don't get it through an employer. I would check through your state's social services site to see if they offer something similar. Also - yes, COBRA. I've been on it for 18 mos (This is my last month, alas). Often you get much fuller coverage than catastrophic insurance, often at about the same price. Good luck!

If your parents have health coverage, you should see if you're eligible to be on their plan for this period. The http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq-dependentcoverage.html to those under 26, but http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/health/dependent-health-coverage-state-implementation.aspx (like NY) have the limit higher (age 29 in NY, 31 in NJ); individual policies may have different qualifications above the state/federal minimum. Please get at least a catastrophic (ER) plan. Your age doesn't make you immune to appendicitis (which affects http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/digestive-diseases-appendicitis; appendectomy costs an average of http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/study-hospitals-billings-shocks-researchers-appendix-removal-cost-1-500-180-000-depending-surgery-article-1.1066207, depending on which hospital you end up at).