As Obamacare rolls out, county agencies and providers jockey for federal and state funds.

A little talking gecko has long been a fixture of car insurance advertising, and if the Affordable Care Act goes as planned, health insurance providers will get just as creative.

The health care reform bill creates a competitive marketplace for health insurance and also expands government-provided health care. With an estimated 55,000 low-to-moderate-income Monterey County residents expected to qualify for expanded coverage, local government agencies and nonprofits in the health care sector are expanding outreach to inform the uninsured about their options.

The region has already attracted at least $1 million in grant funds to support outreach efforts to boost enrollment. The most recent is a $230,000 grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) award to Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas, which operates nine clinics countywide.

More than 125 health centers statewide received $22 million in this round of federal funding to support outreach and eligibility work. “Having trained staff that will provide face-to-face assistance in enrollment means that more people will get the help they need,” Clinica CEO Dr. Max Cuevas said in a statement.

Clinica officials declined the Weekly’s repeated requests for comment.

Clinica’s grant is the latest in the region, following a $500,000 award from Covered California – the state’s new health insurance exchange, which goes live Jan. 1 – to a tri-county group of health-related agencies.

Some of the funds will go to groups like the Central Labor Council, Communities Organized For Relational Power In Action and United Way, which officials hope gets more people enrolled.

“Covered California wants the message to be, ‘There’s no wrong door,’” says Margarita Zarraga, director of the Community Action Partnership for the County Department of Social Services. “If you go to Clinica you can get the information. If you go online, you’ll get the same information. We are trying to work as a team, as a community.”

Julie Edgcomb, director of the County Clinic Services Bureau, is implementing a $200,000 Blue Shield grant to improve electronic records and data-sharing among health care providers.

The county’s seven clinics weren’t eligible for the HRSA grant Clinica won because they don’t dip into that same finite pool of money. “If we wanted to become eligible to apply, it would dilute Clinica’s [funds],” Edgcomb says. “That’s never been the intention.”

Another $125,000 grant from the Blue Shield of California Foundation is helping the County Health Department do education and outreach. In addition, Covered California has provided grants to the NAACP and Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, which both serve Monterey County.