Fiance is stuck between qualifying events and cannot get any coverage, any options? (CA)

I'm posting this on her behalf It's looking like if nothing happens she'll be completely without health insurance for several MONTHS which seems incredibly dangerous .

Age 32, zip code 94401, income averaged over the year is ~$80000

" I need help trying to get health insurance in California.

Long story short: I joined my new job in November and signed up for benefits. I was unaware I didn't sign up for open enrollment. According to my company I only signed up for receiving benefits as a new employee for 2023. I basically needed to sign up twice. Given the time I joined the company, it wasn’t clear to me that was the procedure, since I signed up during the open enrollment timeframe. I believed I was signing up for open enrollment. So I only had insurance for the month of December 2023 before it was canceled. I realized everything after checking my insurance to make a specialist appointment. When calling, I was notified my coverage was no longer active. Was shocked that I unintentionally didn’t have insurance all this time. When I called the benefits department this is what the company sent me:

“Upon careful review we have not received your Open Enrollment submission as of 12/08/2023. We have notified all eligible employees, including you, that you are required to either elect or waive their benefits for the upcoming 2024 coverage because your current benefit offerings are active until December 31, 2023, only. Your next opportunity to elect your 2024 coverage is if you experience a Qualifying Life Event or in the next Open Enrollment period which is usually held this coming November.”

Options I’ve tried/Am thinking about – To sign up for covered california. But on the website it states I need a qualifying event because it's no longer an enrollment period. – Paying for insurance directly through Kaiser. But when I went on the website and started the pre-application it asked when I last had healthcare. When I put in December, and error message popped up stating past insurance has to be held 2 months or less from the start of the new policy. – I’m getting married in August. I’m wondering if this is the soonest time I can get insurance again as a qualifying event? Would it be better for me to just wait until August?

What are my options here? Is there a way I can pay directly to an insurance company for coverage? Also, I don’t want to be penalized by the government for accidentally not being covered. If I start filling out covered california or other government forms could the IRS come after me? "

submitted by /u/gafonid
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