(Georgia) Diabetic in divorce limbo with lapsed spousal TRICARE insurance

I'm looking for healthcare options for a close family member who's diabetic. She's not rich, but not near poverty level, either (unsure of income, somewhere between $40,000 and $75,000 a year?), ~60 years old. She initiated divorce proceedings three months ago in Georgia. They've been married about 8 years. It was uncontested, so she was expecting to be able to get health insurance through her employer after two months (Georgia has a 30-day waiting period + another 30–45 days to process/finalize the divorce). However, the county government's server had some kind of cyber attack the following month, and the court system was the very last thing to get back online; her case just got to a judge and her attorney doesn't have a way to expedite things. Best guess is another 4–6 weeks before she gets the divorce decree and is able to enroll in her employer's plan.

This might not have been a problem since she expected to still have Tricare through her husband while they were still married, BUT the husband let their Tricare coverage lapse three months ago. At this point, the bill is so delinquent he couldn't just pay it; he has to re-register and get reviewed for eligibility– which will take 10–15 days –and we assume he plans to not include her on any new coverage.

She had to cancel her upcoming doctor's appointments since the Tricare has been canceled and she can't make appointments with new doctors without valid insurance. State Health denied her request since it's more than 31 days after the other insurance ended– although she only found out it ended after ~80 days. Her prescriptions are expired and, even though she tried to anticipate future problems and refilled/hoarded what she could, she's almost out of medication, which is both expensive and necessary as a diabetic.

See also  Mom refuses to remove me from her insurance plan, now I have a really great job and I want their plan, please help!

I've gotten the impression if she does self-pay anywhere, any insurance she does get isn't going to reimburse her later. She's already holding the bag for $300+ labwork done a month ago. What affordable health insurance options are there in Georgia for someone in her situation– not really divorced/no life event but left without married benefits, stuck in that situation for several more weeks, and needing medication in less than two weeks?

submitted by /u/buttercreamislife
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