(Via cobalt123, Flickr)

Beginning Oct. 1, many of California's residents will have access to this marketplace. This is also where residents can obtain health care, often at a subsidized rate. 

This marketplace, over three years in the making, has spent a great deal of time studying Californians and their needs. 

With a state as ethnically diverse as California, efforts to target some of its largest communities was critical--especially those qualified for health insurance subsidies. This meant gearing sizable efforts towards Latinos who make up more than a third of the state's population. 

"We believe that 2.6 million Californians will be eligible for the subsidies under Covered California. And out of these 2.6 million, 46 percent are Latinos," said Santiago Lucero, a former anchor and reporter with Spanish language news giant Univision. He is now a spokesperson for Covered California, and emphasised how important it is to reach the Latino community.

Covered California's Statewide Marketing, Outreach and Education Program identified this demographic as a "critical target." Currently, many in this group are low income yet don't qualify for programs like Medi-Cal. 

As with any demographic, there are cultural sensitivities and norms that must be considered. In order to so this effectively, Covered California paired with trusted Spanish speaking news organizations to communicate their message. 

Lucero named a few: "Univison, Telemundo… Azteca America, MundoFox, for example. They are trusted messengers for this community."

It was crucial for Covered California to form partnerships with these and other outlets, he said. Together they assembled a wide variety of publications and events for the Latino community to engage with. 

Asegúrate.com, Spanish for "get covered," has also helped. It is written in both English and Spanish, and works like a handbook. It has information about coverage options, enrollment event locations, and a calculator to estimate if a household qualifies for federal subsidies.

Yet, as Lucero points out, websites are not often the most convenient way for Latinos to get this and other important information. 

"Especially among the Latino community, this is something new for them. For the first time in their lives, millions of Californians, millions of Latinos, will have access to affordable health care. This is new. We're talking about new terminology, new words for them: coinsurance, copayment. What is that? They don't know that, so we need to explain step-by-step what that means and how the law will affect them," Lucero said.

As with many new programs, people look for the comfort and safety that comes with speaking with their peers. 

In an effort to accommodate this, Lucero notes Covered California's partnership with Univision and Telemundo. Both media outlets are participating in weekly phone banks. These accomodate many in the community who are more comfortable speaking to a representative over the phone. There will also be enrollment events in cities throughout California. 

Still, for many in the Latino community, access to information about the marketplace is no concern. Rather, the concern is whether they'll have access to the marketplace at all. Many in this community are here in California, but are unable to provide proof of legal residency in the U.S. 

"Now [the law] says that undocumented immigrants will not be able to participate in the exchanges, and obviously they will not be able to approve subsidies. We don't know what's going to happen in the future. While we have come a long way, as far as affordable health care, we believe that there's still a lot that needs to be done to cover everybody in this country," says Lucero. 

The enrollment period is soon approaching. Leaders working with this demographic, like Lucero, feel very confident in the education and outreach they've led.

Read more about Obamacare here.

Reach Staff Reporter Tahsin Hyder here.