The Missouri Foundation for Health in St. Louis has announced grants totaling $4.5 million to organizations that will assist consumers signing up for health insurance through the Missouri Marketplace during the fall enrollment period.

Awarded through the foundation's Cover Missouri Coalition, the grants will enable eighteen organizations to provide in-person support for consumers looking to enroll in the state-run marketplace or the Small Business Health Options Program. The foundation's service area is divided into five regions, with one grantee in each region serving as a convener for community partners, coordinating outreach and enrollment events, and promoting learning opportunities. The foundation has named Primaris/KMA (central), CoxHealth (southwest), Delta Area Economic Opportunity Corporation (southeast), Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri (St. Louis metro), and Randolph County Caring Community (northeast) as this year's hubs.

Founded in 2013 as part of the foundation's Expanding Coverage Initiative, an effort to reduce the proportion of uninsured Missourians to 5 percent or less within five years, the Cover Missouri Coalition includes nearly five hundred members representing healthcare providers, community-based associations, businesses, and national organizations. During the initial enrollment period, 152,335 Missourians signed up for health insurance through the marketplace. The next open enrollment period begins on November 15.

"These organizations, working in partnership, have the skills and expertise necessary to engage with Missourians who need insurance," said Nancy Kelley, director of the foundation's Expanding Coverage Initiative. "The networks being formed in our communities, both between fellow grantees and non-grantees, will help promote real change."

For a complete list of grant recipients, visit the foundation's website.