Temporary Health Insurance After Living/Working in Europe

Howdy HealthInsurance! I’m in a pretty unusual situation when it comes to health insurance, and would really value some input from a more knowledgeable crowd.

Some details: Male, 37YO, residing with family (proof of residence) in Arizona. Currently (and hopefully only briefly) unemployed. For the past eight years, I resided and worked in Europe (countries with tax treaties with the US), but maintained my American citizenship. I did not earn enough to pay US taxes during this time.

Now that I am back in the US, I have been looking into temporary health insurance options to cover me as I look for a new job. Ideally I would like to find something “affordable” (akin to Catastrophic health insurance plans), but the US health care system is completely bonkers to me and after days of research, I have zero confidence in any temporary health insurance plan. A few questions:

How would I know of I qualify for any kind of special health insurance programs in the state of AZ? I don’t qualify for Catastrophic plans in any form (over 30, I’m guessing my situation does not qualify as “other hardship”, etc). I also don’t think I qualify for COBRA.

Do I have any options here other than going for something like Everest’s “Flex Term” plans?

How will something like an Everest plan affect my future taxes here in the US (tax credits?)? I’m new to the nuances of US taxes where health insurance is concerned.

Anything to get me pointed in the right direction here would be MUCH appreciated, and thank you in advance!

See also  ELI5: Why can’t I continue to contribute to an HSA after changing to a Copay plan?