Enroll America, a coalition of healthcare organizations and companies that plans to work to get people enrolled in health insurance coverage, officially launched (PDF) after word that it would do so was revealed last week.

As part of that effort, the organization established an institute to create a set of best practices for states to voluntarily follow when working to enroll residents in health insurance programs that begin in 2014 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Enroll America initially was funded with about $6 million coming from the following sectors: $2.5 million from pharmaceutical industry organizations including pharmacy benefit managers; $1.5 million from the insurance sector; $1.3 million from foundations; and $825,000 from the hospital industry, according to the coalition.

Members of the organization's board include the respective heads of the American Hospital Association, Blue Shield of California, the Catholic Health Association, Families USA and Kaiser Permanente, according to Enroll America's website.

“Universal coverage is a core defining goal of Blue Shield of California,” Paul Markovich, executive vice president and chief operating officer for the insurer, said on a teleconference for reporters. “We believe Enroll America can make a key difference in helping consumers'' get enrolled and stay enrolled, he said.