I am hoping someone who understands our new system of healthcare better than I do can help me understand my situation.
In 2014 my wife and I qualified for Medi-cal, received the benefits ID card, and were waiting on medi-cal paperwork to come in the mail. Unfortunately, that paperwork never came, so around the end of the enrollment period this year, I went online again, and found that we no longer qualified for medi-cal, (we graduated college and got jobs). Then, after a number of attempts to enroll and lots of technical difficulties, I gave up (my first mistake, I know) on trying to enroll in state funded health insurance and figured I would go out on the insurance market and get us low-premium/high-deductible plan.
Since then I have spent the last few months trying to shop for insurance online, only get more and more frustrated because I am constantly redirected to the state health insurance website and am told I can't enroll in health insurance outside of the enrollment period. Today, I came across an option for short term coverage, but it excludes pre-existing conditions (and my wife may be pregnant, which I believe is typically considered a pre-existing condition).
What are my options at this point? Can I argue my loss of medi-cal eligibility as a life changing event? Or have I waited too long? And why can't I seem to shop for insurance on an open market? Does the state/federal gov't control all insurance plans now?...
Thanks in advance for any help
In 2014 my wife and I qualified for Medi-cal, received the benefits ID card, and were waiting on medi-cal paperwork to come in the mail. Unfortunately, that paperwork never came, so around the end of the enrollment period this year, I went online again, and found that we no longer qualified for medi-cal, (we graduated college and got jobs). Then, after a number of attempts to enroll and lots of technical difficulties, I gave up (my first mistake, I know) on trying to enroll in state funded health insurance and figured I would go out on the insurance market and get us low-premium/high-deductible plan.
Since then I have spent the last few months trying to shop for insurance online, only get more and more frustrated because I am constantly redirected to the state health insurance website and am told I can't enroll in health insurance outside of the enrollment period. Today, I came across an option for short term coverage, but it excludes pre-existing conditions (and my wife may be pregnant, which I believe is typically considered a pre-existing condition).
What are my options at this point? Can I argue my loss of medi-cal eligibility as a life changing event? Or have I waited too long? And why can't I seem to shop for insurance on an open market? Does the state/federal gov't control all insurance plans now?...
Thanks in advance for any help