This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Take Care Utah will once again help Utah residents, free of charge, find and enroll in private health insurance plans.

The Utah Health Policy Project announced Monday that the federal Department of Health and Human Services picked it and its partners in Take Care Utah to be the nonprofit community-based navigator in Utah for another year.

The insurance marketplace at heathcare.gov opens on Nov.15.

The grant is for $485,198, up from the $406,000 grant last year, when Take Care Utah's network of navigators helped 49,000 Utahns seek health insurance coverage.

Besides the Utah Health Policy Project, lead partners in Take Care Utah are the Association for Utah Community Health and United Way of Salt Lake 2-1-1.

They team with such organizations as the National Tongan American Society, Alliance Community Services, Communidades Unidas, Community Health Connect and nonprofit health centers to train navigators.

Navigators help the uninsured and underinsured apply for health insurance and understand the new options available through the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

"We know that signing up for health insurance isn't easy," said Matt Slonaker, executive director of Utah Health Policy Project, according to a news release.

"Now with a year of experience under their belts, the enrollment experts at Take Care Utah are ready again to help Utahns bring home the health insurance coverage they need."

In the first year under ACA, 84,601 Utahns signed up for new coverage on healthcare.gov. The majority of them — 65 percent — received monthly subsidies of at least $50 to buy insurance, according to the Health Policy Project.

Twitter: @KristenMoulton