Just spoke to my health insurance agent.

[dpibel]

11. Respectfully...

Even if you're under 65, you may still qualify for Medicare benefits. Most people assume you must be 65 to sign up for Medicare, but there are exceptions:1

If you're under age 65 and you’ve received disability benefits from Social Security or the Railroad Retirement Board for at least 24 months, you’ll automatically get Medicare Part A and Part B.
If you're a disabled federal, state or local government employee who is not eligible for Social Security or Railroad Retirement Board benefits, you may be eligible for Medicare 24 months after you qualify for disability.

https://www.humana.com/medicare/medicare-resources/medicare-and-disability

That's from Humana, one of the ruthless private providers. You'd think, if there were any possibility of signing up everyone under 65, they'd be the ones to push it.

I can't comment on your belief about what happened in your state, other than to say I think you may be mistaken.