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The federal government announced on Monday grants totaling up to $994,403 to three Wisconsin groups to help people sign up for health insurance later this year on the marketplaces set up under the Affordable Care Act.

The organizations awarded grants this year were:

■ Northwest Wisconsin Concentrated Employment Program Inc.: $279,886.

■ Partners for Community Development Inc.: $276,381.

■ Covering Kids & Families Wisconsin: $438,136.

The grants will help pay the cost of "navigators" to help lead people through the process of signing up for health insurance on the marketplace and determining whether they are eligible for federal subsidies to help offset the cost.

The next open enrollment period begins Nov. 15 and ends Feb. 15.

Covering Kids & Families, part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will use its grant to continue its work in Milwaukee, where it has a small office, and to contract with community action programs in Racine, Kenosha and other counties, said Molly Bandt, director of the organization.

It also will build on lessons learned last year, such as holding enrollment events at organizations with existing ties to the community, Bandt said.

Partners for Community Development, based in Sheboygan, will focus on Latino, Hmong and other groups that can be hard to reach. Its outreach efforts will focus on Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties.

Northwest Wisconsin Concentrated Employment Program Inc., based in Ashland, will provide services in 18 job centers.

The grants last year made only a limited contribution to the work in helping people understand the Affordable Care Act and how to enroll for coverage.

Much of the work in the state instead was done by regional enrollment networks. In Milwaukee County, for example, the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership, which includes health systems, community health centers and other groups, took the lead in building a network to help people sign up for coverage.

Insurance brokers and agents also helped thousands of people in the state.

Based on an outside survey, an estimated 10.6 million people nationwide received help in signing up for coverage on the marketplaces or for Medicaid in the last enrollment period, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Information about marketplace resources is available at http://cciio.cms.gov/programs/exchanges/assistance.html.