Yeah, after talking with a health care plan benefits person, I definitely got that. So here is what I'm now planning to do.
For Feb/March/first week of April, I will have an official, shiny, Obama-sanctioned plan. The ones I was looking at through my current workplace insurer run like $300/month, but I may be able to find cheaper on the exchange website. For rest of April/May, I will have an international catastrophic plan, and who cares if it's approved. For June, I will have a US plan, and who cares if it's approved.
So basically I can then claim the B exception on my 2017 taxes since I'll not be covered by an approved plan for less than three months (part of April and all of May/June, with new employer coverage starting July 1).
The other thing is, I can't register now, because I haven't actually left my job or moved yet. If I want sanctioned coverage to start February 1, I think I need to complete my application in January or after December 15 at the earliest. Right now, the Obamacare website won't let me input future moves/job changes that will occur after January 28....