Health insurance gap after a layoff (Sacramento)

My employer coverage ended at the end of the month and I am trying to work out what to do as a copywriter. I do not want a gap in coverage. What did you choose and how was the process?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

A free navigator at a community health centre walked me through my options. It took an hour and saved me a lot of guessing.