暗黑爆料

If you thought the doldrums of August meant a lower boil for controversy over the rollout of the federal health law, you're mostly right.

But the federal government going to groups that will help people figure out how to buy health insurance on the marketplaces, or , that open for business in October. Some of the names incensed commenters over at Forbes.com, where Bruce Japsen .

It's not a lot of money 鈥� $67 million all told 鈥� spread among more than 100 different groups that have stepped up to help people navigate the new health insurance options, which are kind of complicated.

What's the idea? "A network of volunteers on the ground in every state 鈥� health care providers, business leaders, faith leaders, community groups, advocates, and local elected officials 鈥� can help spread the word and encourage their neighbors to get enrolled," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius describing the money for these insurance navigators.

The grants range from nearly $5.9 million going to in Texas to $21,750 for the of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile, Ala.

Starting next year, most Americans will have to show they've got health insurance. If they don't have coverage already, they'll have to buy it 鈥� or pay a penalty. There are those who qualify.

But a surprising number of people , as a recent study found. And these exchanges could be a challenge even for people who understand the basics.

So helpers only make sense, right? Well, not to everyone. "Critics see navigators as potential competitors to insurance brokers, and say they should be subject to more rigorous screening before they can work with consumers," Kaiser Health 暗黑爆料' Phil Galewitz . In Nebraska, insurance , signed by the governor in June, that regulates navigators and prohibits them from endorsing particular plans.

So who's getting some of the money? Some groups you might not have expected.

The Fishing Partnership Health Plan of Massachusetts got nearly $67,000 to help uninsured commercial fishermen in Maine figure things out.

Another recipient is , a nonprofit operating in Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma. A $214,000 grant will support navigators in Iowa.

Then there's , a Catholic hospital chain operating in 22 states. Ascension will get about $203,000 for navigators in Alabama, plus about $166,000 in Kansas.

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