PCP got changed without warning, is this a qualifying event?

I have a healthcare.gov plan with meridian. I found out yesterday that they changed my PCP to some place I've never heard of that is 35 miles away. There was no warning or notice of this, it just suddenly was a new address listed when i logged in to pay my premium. Is this a qualifying event for changing to a different plan that has in-network doctors nearby?

I could understand the distance if i lived in the middle of nowhere but I live in a fairly large city (125,000) with multiple hospitals and a university, colleges, airport, lot of industry etc so it's completely unclear to me why i have to drive 80 minutes round trip to see an in-network doctor now. In fact my new PCP is in a tiny 2000 population rural town, it's completely backwards that i should be forced to go there for health care. My former PCP was about 2 miles away.

The new PCP says they are not taking new patients on their site although I haven't tried making an appointment yet to see if that is the case or if they will make an exception because I have been forced to be a patient there against my will. If they won't accept me then what recourse do I have?

Do i have any options here? Why are plans allowed to change like this outside of enrollment periods? How is it legal to sell an insurance plan that doesn't include doctors within the same city as the plan is being purchased from?

submitted by /u/spesimen
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