Any downside to buying ACA plan before HHS formally disqualifies my family for Medicaid (we will NOT qualify)?

My husband is a self employed contract journalist. We had an ACA plan for years. Then 2020, COVID, furlough, Medicaid, now dumped due to non-renewal. Six months ago I called HHS and told them we no longer qualify for Medicaid based on income. They told me we’d be automatically dumped in November and then we’d be able to buy an ACA plan again. I didn’t realize we had to apply for Medicaid and wait up to 30 days for them to formally dump us before getting an ACA plan. So I went ahead and applied for Medicaid for our family a few weeks ago, sent them over 40 pages of documentation making it clear we DO NOT qualify, but they still call us “in process.” Mind you, we currently have no insurance. I’m desperate to buy an ACA plan before the end of the month so we can be enrolled for December, but HHS tells me it could take until next week for them to deny our application, which would mean enrolling in an ACA plan in January. What exactly is the downside to buying an ACA plan now? It’s not like HHS is going to decide we qualify for Medicaid and make us pay back the subsidy on an ACA plan. We will not qualify and have been told so. Is there any point in doing this the “right” way when my family’s life could be at risk in the next month without insurance? I’m not even 100% clear we’d be doing anything wrong because the wording is so confusing regarding what’s supposed to happen next. I’ve called HHS repeatedly, written a personal plea, begging them to please formally dump us soon (being unenrolled due to non-renewal is not the same as being unenrolled due to disqualification). Our daughter is in college doing student teaching. I feel like she’s at risk of picking up some nasty bugs and I’m terrified right now. Opinions? (I am located in Pennsylvania)