In this March 31, 2014 file photo, Jose Villanueva, left, and Doraisy Avila sit with an agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors as they look at a pricing plan available from the Affordable Care Act at a store set up in the Mall of Americas in Miami.(Photo: Joe Raedle, Getty Images)

WASHINGTON With the enrollment deadline looming, the Obama administration and advocacy groups are ramping up efforts to sign up millions of Hispanics for health coverage through online exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act.

Activists in states with high Latino populations are using various strategies to recruit a traditionally hard-to-reach group that already faces barriers to health care. The activists have been especially aggressive in Texas and Florida, which declined to expand Medicaid under the 2010 health care law.

Groups such as Enroll America are hosting social media initiatives, airing Spanish-language public service ads and deploying advocates in Hispanic neighborhoods to convince an often reluctant population that enrollment would benefit them and their families.

The enrollment window, which opened Nov. 15, closes Feb. 15.

"We've made every effort to double down on the most effective tactics to reach the Latino community," said Anne Filipic, Enroll America's president. The liberal advocacy group has set up grass-root efforts to sign up uninsured residents in 11 states, including Arizona, Florida and Texas.

USA TODAY

Reports: ACA coverage reached more than 9 million

USA TODAY

Voices: Afraid to apply for health care for their kids

Excerpt from:

Efforts intensify to sign up Hispanics for health care