I'm a 42yr old self-employed, healthy male and another victim of obamacare. I've lost my United Healthcare PPO plan that I had last year due to UH's exit from the Marketplace. Plan was shit anyway but better than nothing. The only option on the Marketplace for 2017 in AZ was a shitty Ambetter HMO for $500-700/mo with a $7k deductible. Essentially a worthless plan. I refuse to purchase an HMO at any price.

I'm thinking about either a short-term PPO plan that I'll renew every 6mo-1yr or going with Liberty Healthshare. With the short-term PPO I'll be subject to the penalty but I never get an IRS refund anyway so technically I could just not pay the penalty. I'm curious what, if any, changes Trump will bring.

Is anybody else in AZ in the same predicament? If so, what did you choose?

We ended up with Cigna in Maricopa Co because we had to. Cigna and Aetna are un-advertised Obama-care compliant plans.   The family plan is expensive. Thank God I'm headed back to work for the county. 

I joined my wife's plan but other option was Cigna

Wasn't there some kind of exemption if you received a letter stating that your utilities were going to be shut off for non-payment?  I heard there was quite a few people who delayed paying their electric bill for a month and so they'd get a shutoff notice.  That's one loophole that may be worth exploring.

The obama care hardship exemptions that require NO DOCUMENTATION  are # 1 you were homeless and #4 You recently experienced domestic violence . # 4 is interesting because you can use it and never be challenged or asked for documentation . So paying the fine for not having insurance is up to you .

# 4 You recently have experienced domestic violence  requires absolutely no documentation what so ever

I'm in the same boat as the OP.  I decided to go with Health Insurance Innovations.  It's not Obamacare compliant so you'd still be liable for the O-Care penalty.  It looks like you already figured out how to get around that and I think Trump will be able to kill off the penalty regardless. 

Go to their website and enter your specifics and you'll get several options for deductible amounts, etc.  Much more affordable than anything else I've found.  You can opt for a single month or more, up to six months or a year depending on your location.  I enrolled for six months. 

https://www.hiiquote.com/

I have United Health Care Golden Rule, but I am grandfathered in and my coverage is still alive. I hope..............

You do realize that HII is a complete and total scam?  Do some research.  They don't cover shit, I mean shit.  They will fuck you at every turn.  To cancel you will have to change your CC number or bank account because they will continue to charge and not cancel.  It doesn't matter how many times you call to cancel coverage, they will not comply.  A fraudulent company, 100%.

I've had two doctor appointments since getting HII.  They covered both - I had to pay the same co-pay amount that I paid when I was with HealthNet.  So far, no complaints with HII. 

I paid for six months coverage.  That's the longest term they offer in my location.  I don't have fears that they'll put me on lifetime renewal and charge my credit card for perpetuity.  If they do, I'll come back and give an update. 

we have BCBS PPO with a high deductible for 3 people, its "affordable"....but at this point with trump in office and if i didnt have insurance, i'd probably opt to not bother being in compliance with the "law" if i didnt really need health insurance at the time.