If we in the healthcare industry believe that the path to good health does not begin until someone enters the hospital, we are already starting off at a great disadvantage. That’s a failed model of healthcare for all involved: doctors and nurses, healthcare providers, caregivers and patients. It’s a model that reinforces the passive patient who doesn’t question their physician or ask for a second opinion. A model that makes patients more comfortable turning to folk cures and alternative therapies instead of preventive self-screening and proven treatment methods. 

By 2020, an estimated 1 in 5 Americans –or 20% of the U.S. population- will be Hispanic.  This growth, coupled with the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will dramatically change the Hispanic health and wellness landscape.  Historically, pharmaceutical companies and health insurance providers have not focused on the U.S. Hispanic market.  But we are already seeing shifts in the health care sector as providers look to secure their fair share of the 10 million Hispanics newly eligible for insurance.  Their new efforts to reach this population are evidenced by increased investments in highly targeted advertising, health fairs and even community offices designed to cater to Hispanics. 

While acculturation may have a significant impact on the diet of the millions of Hispanics in the country, data from The Multi-Cultural Latino Consumer study indicates the family experience is still what drives most of the Latino food purchases and choices.

Sonia Gallegos’ earliest memory of food is of her grandmother selling groceries out of a small chest in Mexico. Gallegos’ mother also made a career in the food industry when she arrived in the United States. Inspired by her mother and grandmother, who spent their lives around food and a kitchen, Gallegos began working in a restaurant, and now possesses over 30 years of experience in the industry.

The debut of the Affordable Care Act's Health Insurance Marketplaces on Tuesday starts the clock on a six month race for the Obama administration to enroll Latinos, the nation's most likely group to be uninsured, and the program's most critical customers.