LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA–(Marketwire – July 6, 2010) – The Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare industry represents an over forty billion dollar industry with millions of patients traveling each year for medical care. The industry faces many challenges, such as the increased competition of new countries and hospitals marketing their services, an economic recession and meeting the demands of a greater educated base of patients. The medical tourism industry also faces new opportunities in the form of healthcare reform in the US, the emergence of more insurance companies and employers in the US implementing medical tourism, and international insurance companies implementing global health insurance policies which let their clients travel anywhere in the world for medical care. As the medical tourism industry grows at thirty five percent each year, as estimated by Deloitte, for the next several years many new opportunities will emerge for the industry participants. “The healthcare organizations in countries promoting medical tourism are improving the quality of the health care of their organizations in terms of services provided and accreditations. Investors are building newer, cutting edge hospitals as global competition increases and these facilities are trying to supply the high demand of new patients,” said Renee-Marie Stephano, President of the Medical Tourism Association.