1. I'm not saying this to say this is a
fictional 
, but there are enough large gaps in it that significant information is missing. The missing information pretty much precludes understanding the

.
2.
OhBummer!Don'tCare had a couple of huge effects. Companies that had good insurance plans and updated the plans did so with greatly increased expense; those plans that had employee contributions to the overall premiums increased those contributions significantly.
OhBummer!Don'tCare cost me $1500-$2000 a year for several years (until I changed jobs). Less expensive (comparatively) individual plans that had limited tailored coverage were regulated out of existence and replaced with one-size-fits-all plans that either had affordable premiums but horrendous out-of-pocket deductibles or very high premiums and less awful deductibles. Sounds like the DU OP has the less expensive, horrendous deductible type of
OhBummer!Don'tCare-compliant plan. And in trying to get on
OhBummer!Don'tCare-expanded Medicaid, the DU-OP is learning the wonderful world of means-testing,

.