The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare), has many wondering if major pharmaceutical companies and health insurance providers will tap into the Hispanic health market and seize this potentially robust opportunity.

In March 2010, President Obama signed comprehensive health reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), into law. The law makes preventive care -- including family planning and related services -- more accessible and affordable for many Americans. While some provisions of the law have already taken effect, many more provisions will be implemented in the coming years.

Portada took a closer look and tackled the top 50 2012 Hispanic market advertisers as compiled by Kantar Media.

So what did the data determine?

Surprisingly, it found the data revealed that "pharmaceutical companies and health insurance providers do not belong to the big ad spenders, but "in fact, pharma and health companies are notorious for their absence among the top Hispanic ad-categories."

There are two examples of this, according to Portada: Genoma Lab International's position as number 1 in the Kantar Media ranking with US$ 255.6 million is misleading, because the majority of Genoma's advertising is on cosmetics and well-being products, not on pharma. The other health/pharma organization among the top 50 is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at place 39 (US$ 35.7 million Hispanic ad spend in 2012).

"Under the Affordable Care Act, each state has an Exchange - a website designed to help people shop for and buy a health plan. For example, in New York state the New York Health Benefit Exchange begun taking applications on October 1 for coverage that begins January 1, 2014. It is predicted that approximately 15 million previously uninsured persons will now be able to get insurance. Hispanics should amount to a sizable share of them."

Portada points out that Health insurers like Nationwide and Wellpoint have increased their media and advertising approach "to raise their profile in order to be selected by consumers at the health exchange; however none of these efforts have been Hispanic specific."

Will companies increase their Hispanic marketing budgets moving forward?

Steve Millerman, CEO of Prime Access, tells Portada that "there is no question that the ACA will have an impact on healthcare companies increasing their spending on the US Hispanic market. However, I don't believe the ACA will be the catalyst to make this happen on a significant level. Many of the key challenges and reasons why the healthcare industry has not fully embraced multicultural marketing to date will remain the same pre and post the ACA taking full effect."

Millerman, who previously in his career led the Multicultural Marketing unit at Novartis, points out that this process will develop over time, "the ACA is not an overnight event ; it will be a gradual transition over years."

Which health insurance companies will spearhead an ACA Hispanic market movement?

According to Millerman, "all insurance companies, especially those with high regional access in key Hispanic markets, should certainly be at the forefront. For pharma companies, the opportunity is phenomenal. I would envision that those companies that have already activated their Hispanic engagement will be making adjustments to fully understand the opportunity and invest. But the key question remains, what is the opportunity? On a macro level, yes, we'll have millions coming into the system, but when we break it down into sub-segments based on therapeutic areas, brands, age groups, potential co-pay amounts and coverage, the opportunity may not be as large for some brands versus others based on the patient profile most suitable for the medications at hand. This is no longer about macro-targeting but micro-targeting."

Maybe using more Latinos in medical studies or clinical trials could help bridge the gap to understanding how different drugs affect this particular group - or to tackle a cultural divide.

According to Science Daily, Hispanic cancer patients rarely participate in clinical trials, but researchers tried a different approach to tailor a Spanish DVD to help change the outcome. In an effort to "create a relevant educational tool, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers investigated why awareness of and participation in trials are so low in this population."

The investigation involved focus groups with 36 Spanish-speaking cancer survivors from Tampa and Puerto Rico. Their findings showed that "a language barrier, as well as a cultural idea that only doctors, not patients, guide treatment decisions, may help account for low participation rates."

Another valid point that came from the study, which was published online in May by the Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives, points out that "also in Hispanic culture, the patient relies on his or her family to help make health care decisions."

"We found that Hispanic patients who prefer information in Spanish had different informational needs and concerns than non-Hispanic patients," said study lead author Gwendolyn P. Quinn, Ph.D., scientific director of the Survey Methods Core Facility and member of the Health Outcomes and Behavior Program at Moffitt. "Keeping that in mind, we developed educational materials using a social marketing approach, which targets a specific audience instead of creating a generic product for everyone. This approach increases the chances a patient may relate to the material, making their behavior change more likely."

Knowledge is power in any language -- and healthcare is a universal concern without a universal language.

"We feel the educational materials we developed will empower Hispanic patients by improving their capacity to make health care decisions, such as enrolling in a clinical trial," Quinn added. "They may say no, but they will be prepared with knowledge about the purpose of clinical trials and will not be making an uninformed decision."