text: Premiums paid under COBRA are what the employer was paying to the insurer, including the employee's contribution. For most, of course, that will be much more than what you saw deducted from your paycheck each month. There's also a small (2%) service charge.
  
  For example, when I became self-employed in 2006, I started paying $1349 per month for my family's coverage: $1339 for the policy plus a $10 service charge. Before that, I saw $232 deducted from my pay each month for exactly the same policy. My employer was paying the remaining $1107 every month.
  
  Today, we have coverage through my wife's employer. For "family" (employee + spouse + children) coverage, the total monthly premium is $1926. Our contribution is $850 and the employer pays $1076. The employer's benefits summary lists a "COBRA Rate" of $1965 for that policy. The $1926 premium plus a 2% service charge.
  
  For the same plan, employee, only, the COBRA rate is $680. Frosty's $720 sounds reasonable.