Covered California vs employer provided insurance – new immigrant to the US

Hi folks

I moved to SF recently and am still trying to figure out the whole health insurance mess. My employer has an option through Gusto. I tried comparing those plans vs ones available on Covered California but they don’t look similar enough to compare (even the plan names are different!).

For full context – I have a bad knee which I know will require surgery in the immediate future – I prefer as soon as possible because it has reduced my mobility and it’s impacting my mental health. I will also be getting married late October and my partner will move to the US to be with me.

With all the context, how should I go about picking a health plan? This is what I’m thinking so far:

the Gusto plan will kick in immediately but the Covered CA plan only due to a life event (wedding late October)

I (obviously) don’t have a preferred doctor but UCSF has highly rated surgeons for my procedure – I should try to find an EPO plan that includes UCSF (from my understanding EPO will have a lower cost vs PPO and will allow me to see specialists without needing a referral as in an HMO)

Kaiser in SF has only one doctor who *might* be able to see me for my condition but if it doesn’t work out, I don’t think I can see any other doctors – I need to reconfirm this

during my visa application (O-1), I was asked if I had received any benefits from the government – I hadn’t. If I use Covered CA’s credits, will that count against my O-1 renewal?

Thanks for the help!